A massive Bitcoin theft from 2020 has surfaced nearly four years later, and it’s now being called the largest crypto heist ever uncovered. Key Takeaways: Arkham has revealed an undisclosed 2020 hack of 127,426 BTC from Chinese mining pool LuBian. The attack exploited weaknesses in LuBian’s private key system, with over 90% of its BTC drained in a single day. LuBian attempted to contact the hacker via Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature. On Saturday, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported that 127,426 BTC, valued at around $3.5 billion at the time and nearly $14.5 billion today, was stolen from Chinese mining pool LuBian in December 2020. LuBian rose quickly in early 2020, becoming the sixth-largest mining pool on the Bitcoin network by mid-year. Its website promoted it as “the safest high yielding mining pool in the world.” LuBian Vanished in 2021, Sparking Speculation of Shutdown By February 2021, LuBian had disappeared without explanation, fueling speculation that it was either shut down by authorities or quietly converted into a private pool. Arkham’s investigation points to a more dramatic exit: a hack that drained the pool’s holdings. “They appear to have been first hacked on December 28th, 2020 for over 90% of their BTC,” Arkham wrote. The following day, attackers siphoned off another $6 million in BTC and USDT from a LuBian-linked address on the Bitcoin Omni layer. The firm believes the Bitcoin theft stemmed from vulnerabilities in LuBian’s private key generation system, which may have allowed brute-force attacks. While 11,886 BTC, worth roughly $1.35 billion, remains untouched in LuBian’s wallet, none of the stolen coins have moved since July 2024. Interestingly, LuBian attempted to communicate with the attacker using Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature. BREAKING: ARKHAM UNCOVERS $3.5B HEIST – THE LARGEST EVER LuBian was a Chinese mining pool with facilities in China & Iran. Based on analysis of on-chain data, it appears that 127,426 BTC was stolen from LuBian in December 2020, worth $3.5 billion at the time and now worth… pic.twitter.com/PnIOKgMt0i — Arkham (@arkham) August 2, 2025 In two transactions, the team wrote: “To the whitehat who is saving our asset, you can contact us… to discuss the return of asset and your reward.” The message included an email address, but it’s unclear if the hacker ever replied. While the Mt. Gox collapse involved more BTC, the LuBian breach is the largest confirmed crypto theft by value at the time of the incident. Bitcoin Hacks, Theft Cost Investors $2.2B in H1 2025: CertiK Crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks , scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, driven largely by wallet compromises and phishing attacks, according to CertiK’s latest security report. Wallet breaches alone caused $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for over $410 million across 132 attacks. Two major incidents, including Bybit’s $1.5 billion hack in February and Cetus Protocol’s $225 million exploit in May, skewed the year’s losses upward, together accounting for nearly $1.78 billion. Without these, losses align more closely with previous years at around $690 million. Ethereum remained the primary target, suffering over $1.6 billion in losses across 175 events. The report also pointed to rising sophistication of phishing schemes and ongoing risks from social engineering, urging crypto users to verify links, avoid suspicious sites, and use hardware wallets. The post Arkham Uncovers $3.5B Bitcoin Theft from Chinese Mining Pool Stolen in 2020, Largest Theft Ever appeared first on Cryptonews .
The chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab believes that a restrained Fed is one of the key reasons why markets are bullish. In an interview on the Excess Returns YouTube channel, Liz Ann Sonders says investors prefer a calm and steady Fed, even amid pressure from President Trump to cut rates, as inflation remains elevated. Sonders also notes that the Fed’s current pause is perfectly in line with its mandate of low inflation and maximum employment. “I think part of the reason why the market is doing well is because the Fed is not cutting. A combination of because they’re not bowing to political pressure, and oh and by the way, neither side of their dual mandate suggests that they should be cutting. Financial conditions are easy. The unemployment rate is steady, actually has been coming down. Inflation is still above their target. So the conditions just don’t suggest that they should be easing.” The investor points out that a Fed rate cut at this stage could backfire by tightening financial conditions and triggering a market drop. She explains that borrowing costs are tied to the 10-year Treasury yield, a rate determined by market forces and not directly set by the Fed. The Charles Schwab executive warns that a cut could push yields higher, making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow. “And there’s a distinct possibility that if the market feels the Fed is prematurely lowering rates, doesn’t have the incentive to do that based on their mandate, that you could have a repeat of what happened as recently as last fall – when the Fed cut by a 100 basis points and the Fed funds rate and the 10-year yield over the same exact span of time went up by a 100 basis points. So this idea that if we just get the Fed to cut rates, that that eases borrowing costs for companies and brings mortgage rates down, suggests a misunderstanding of what rate it is that is tied to borrowing rates for corporations, for individuals. I think part of the reason why the market has done well is because the Fed doesn’t have the conditions that suggest easing.” Follow us on X , Facebook and Telegram Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox Check Price Action Surf The Daily Hodl Mix Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing. Generated Image: Midjourney The post Markets Are Rallying Because the Fed Is Not Cutting, Says Charles Schwab Exec – Here’s Why appeared first on The Daily Hodl .
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X-user WrathofKahneman, who closely follows Ripple’s activities and is well-known in the cryptocurrency community, shared the first public part of an important application made by the company to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). According to the disclosures, Ripple has applied for a license to establish a limited-purpose national trust bank. According to the application, this new structure aims to hold Ripple's RLUSD (Ripple USD) reserves and establish a regulated infrastructure for tokenized financial products. It also raises the possibility of direct access to the Fed in the future. According to WrathofKahneman, this initiative isn't targeting individual users. According to the Banking Comprehensive Revision Act (CRA), the regulation doesn't apply to banks that don't provide loans or take deposits and only offer trust-based services. This suggests Ripple's new structure will focus solely on business (B2B) services. Related News: Market Prophet Tom Lee Shares His Bullish Prediction on Ethereum (ETH) Price Ripple's Application Doesn't Provide Any XRP Details Another notable detail is that the application doesn't directly mention XRP. Analysts note that Ripple is attempting to clearly separate XRP from its banking license, aiming to avoid regulatory confusion. However, there's no indication that future XRP integrations are completely ruled out. The application details that Ripple Labs would own the bank, issue special shares to its executives, and that much of the application was kept confidential. This secrecy was interpreted as a sign of a potential initial public offering (IPO) plan. As a result, Ripple is aiming for a national bank license to create a regulated subsidiary to manage its tokenization infrastructure. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: Details Revealed About Ripple’s Application to Establish the “Ripple National Trust Bank”
LuBian’s hack dethrones ByBit as crypto’s biggest-ever heist.
Arkham Intelligence, a leading blockchain data analytics firm, has recently uncovered one of the largest Bitcoin heists in history. According to their latest investigation, on-chain data reveals that 127,426 BTC were stolen from LuBian, a Chinese mining pool with operations in China and Iran, back in December 2020. At the time, the stolen assets were valued at approximately $3.5 billion. However, with Bitcoin’s price surge over the past few years, the stolen funds are now worth an estimated $14.5 billion. LuBian, once a major player in the global Bitcoin mining ecosystem, never publicly acknowledged the hack, nor has the hacker come forward. The stolen funds remained dormant and hidden from public attention until Arkham’s investigation brought them back into the spotlight. This revelation has sparked intense discussion within the crypto community about the ongoing security risks within the industry, particularly in mining and custodial operations. The sheer scale of this theft makes it the largest documented Bitcoin heist to date, surpassing even the infamous Mt. Gox incident (25,000 BTC stolen). As Arkham continues to track the movements of these funds, the incident raises pressing questions about transparency , cybersecurity, and the lingering vulnerabilities within the global crypto infrastructure. How LuBian Lost Over 127,000 BTC To A Key Vulnerability LuBian, once one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pools, controlled nearly 6% of the network’s total hash-rate as of May 2020. However, their prominence was shattered by a catastrophic security breach that Arkham Intelligence recently exposed . According to Arkham’s analysis, LuBian was first hacked on December 28, 2020, losing over 90% of their BTC reserves in a single exploit. Just a day later, on December 29, an additional $6 million in BTC and USDT was stolen from a LuBian address active on Bitcoin’s Omni layer. In a desperate attempt to recover their funds, LuBian rotated the remaining assets to recovery wallets on December 31. Notably, LuBian attempted to communicate with the hacker directly through the blockchain, sending OP_RETURN messages embedded in transactions. They spent 1.4 BTC across 1,516 transactions to broadcast these pleas, a clear indication that these were legitimate recovery attempts and not the result of another malicious actor brute-forcing their keys. Arkham’s investigation points to a critical flaw in LuBian’s private key generation process . It appears that LuBian employed an algorithm vulnerable to brute-force attacks, a weakness that hackers exploited to siphon away 127,426 BTC. Despite the massive theft, LuBian managed to preserve 11,886 BTC—currently valued at $1.35 billion—which remains in their control. As for the stolen BTC, Arkham reports that the hacker’s last known activity was a wallet consolidation in July 2024. The stolen coins have yet to be laundered or cashed out, keeping the crypto community on high alert. This breach not only highlights the ongoing risks in blockchain security but also underscores the need for rigorous key management practices across the industry. Bitcoin Weekly Close Will Set The Tone For August Bitcoin is approaching a critical weekly close after experiencing a breakdown from its consolidation range. The price dropped below the $115,724 key support level, reaching a local low of $112,104. Currently, BTC is trading around $112,726, just above the weekly 50-day moving average at $90,459, with the 100-day and 200-day moving averages well below the current price, indicating a strong long-term uptrend. However, the rejection near the $122,000 resistance highlights a potential shift in momentum as selling pressure mounts. A weekly close below the $115,724 mark would confirm a breakdown from the two-week range, potentially opening the door for further downside towards the $110K-$112K region. This level, which previously acted as a breakout zone in late June, could now serve as critical demand support. On the other hand, if bulls manage to reclaim $115,724 before Sunday’s close, it would signal strength and resilience, invalidating the breakdown and keeping the bullish structure intact. Volume has been moderate during this decline, suggesting the move is more corrective than a trend reversal. The next 48 hours will be crucial, as the weekly close will likely define Bitcoin’s direction for the coming weeks. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView
Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz recently explored the idea of modernizing the XRP Ledger’s core components, including the possibility of a modular architecture and a Rust-based implementation. The comments came during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session hosted by XRPL Commons and were shared on X by crypto commentator Crypto Eri (@sentosumosaba), who posted a clip highlighting the exchange. Despite XRPL’s longstanding performance and reliability , Schwartz did not shy away from identifying architectural inefficiencies. “It’s kind of annoying that you have a monolith that has the consensus engine, the transaction engine, and client queries all monolithically,” he said. Schwartz, who is one of the architects of the XRPL , explained that the tightly coupled components have made it difficult to implement enhancements or enable interoperability with alternative implementations. Decisions are being made today. If restarting the #XRP ledger from scratch, Ripple CTO David Schwartz discusses using "Rust" is definitely talked about. Proposals from an outside company are currently being considered for a possible modular revamp of pieces. (Rust is a… pic.twitter.com/DzEpY3gQNv — Crypto Eri ~ Carpe Diem (@sentosumosaba) August 2, 2025 Moving Toward a More Modular Architecture One solution under consideration is modularization of the transaction engine, possibly enabling it to run within a virtual machine. That shift could separate the core logic from the client-facing overlay and database components, free to evolve independently. Rust has emerged as a candidate for such a reimplementation. When asked why the ledger wasn’t already being rebuilt in Rust, Schwartz noted that discussions about doing exactly that are happening. He emphasized that the difficulty lies in untangling the existing architecture, especially the payment engine. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 Schwartz explained that parts of the payment engine are difficult to define clearly, which makes rebuilding or re-implementing them challenging. Some behaviors depend on the order of operations in ways that aren’t consistently documented. To address this, he suggested rewriting those components with clearer, more predictable logic and possibly introducing formal definitions to guide future implementations. A cleaner, more consistent version would make the system easier to maintain and could help future improvements, enhancing XRP’s appeal in the global financial ecosystem . Proposals Under Review Ripple is currently reviewing external proposals to undertake parts of this effort, and Schwartz mentioned that decisions are being made about the feasibility and prioritization of such initiatives. He pointed to Aanchal Malhotra, board member and head of research at RippleX, as someone leading aspects of that process. XRP is already highly appealing to institutions , and upgrading its functionality through a modern programming language like Rust could increase institutional confidence in the asset and potentially raise adoption rates. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Ripple CTO: What to be Used If XRP Ledger Is Restarted from Scratch appeared first on Times Tabloid .
A crypto user has fallen victim to a sophisticated wallet-draining scam, losing $908,551 in USD Coin (USDC) nearly 16 months after unknowingly authorizing a malicious smart contract. Onchain data reveals the approval transaction was signed on April 30, 2024 — but the theft occurred much later, on August 2, 2025. This incident marks yet another alarming breach in the crypto space. The attack began with an ERC-20 approval transaction, likely embedded in a fake airdrop or a spoofed legitimate-looking website. The victim unknowingly signed the transaction, granting the scammer access to their funds. Scammer strikes 458 days later as dormant wallet springs to life The scammer’s wallet had a disreputable pink-drainer.eth address, “0x67E5Ae”, where the stolen $908,551 worth of USDC stablecoin was received. The attack was carried out on August 2 at 4:57 AM UTC, according to Scam Sniffer’s X post . This was 458 days, just after the victim accidentally approved a transaction that appeared to be legit on April 30, 2024. The unexpected attack has raised security concerns among crypto users. To address this, Scam Sniffer, a firm that keenly monitors malicious activities in the crypto space, called for the urgency of digital asset users taking caution before approving the transactions. According to the firm, users should check their approvals often. For the old ones, they should cancel them to avoid exposing their funds to scammers, emphasizing the importance of their wallet security. In the highlighted case, the compromised wallet had only seen minimal, low-value transactions up until a month before the theft, making it unlikely to attract immediate attention from scammers. The user decided to move $762,397 into a wallet with the address 0x6c0eB6 from a MetaMask wallet on July 2 at 8:41 PM UTC. Ten minutes later, the user transferred another $146,154 in USDC to the same wallet from a Kraken account. At this time, the scammer was monitoring the movement of the funds, waiting for the right time to attack while giving the user more time to see if she or he could add more funds to the wallet. The attack took place on August 2. Crypto fraud attack raises tension among investors Investigators noted that the scammer used tactics typical of a phishing approval attack , closely monitoring the victim’s transactions before executing the theft. Following such attacks, crypto authorities included stricter measures users should take while approving transactions. For example, they have introduced Etherscan’s Token Approval checker for Ethereum users, enabling them to review and cancel any token approval that is not needed. However, each cancellation process is charged a gas fee. Meanwhile, research from sources reveals that in July alone, the total stolen funds amounted to more than $142 million in the crypto ecosystem. This involves at least 17 attacks, with crypto exchange CoinDCX suffering the highest losses. Still, crypto users are worried about the security of their funds. Some have highlighted that this scammer has not been identified and arrested, which makes them even more worried. Others have called for more security measures to be effected. Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.
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Centibillionaire Elon Musk uses his AI to prove Bitcoin's security