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The biggest crypto hack in history was just uncovered, involving 127,426 BTC stolen from LuBian mining pool.
The breach occurred in December 2020 but remained undisclosed until Arkham Intelligence exposed it in 2025. LuBian, a Chinese mining pool with operations in China and Iran, was a major player at the time. It controlled about 6% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate before the massive breach took place. At the time of the attack, the stolen Bitcoin was worth roughly $3.5 billion. Due to Bitcoin’s rise in value, those stolen assets are now worth an astonishing $14.5 billion.
A Record-Breaking Crypto Heist
The attackers managed to drain over 90% of LuBian’s BTC on December 28, 2020. Two days later, they targeted another address linked to the Bitcoin Omni Layer. Arkham’s on-chain analysis revealed a clear pattern linking multiple addresses used in the theft. All these addresses received OP_RETURN messages from LuBian’s team, begging for the return of the funds. LuBian spent 1.4 BTC across 1,516 microtransactions in these appeal efforts.
The biggest crypto hack in history remained hidden because neither LuBian nor the hackers made public statements. The funds sat untouched until a minor consolidation of addresses in July 2024 reignited attention. Arkham’s data analysis confirmed that the breach was not spoofed or faked. Evidence points to a flawed key generation method as the entry point for the attackers. This error may have allowed brute-force access to LuBian’s private wallets.
Key Security Lessons from the LuBian Breach
Even now, the hacker controls the stolen 127,426 BTC without moving it. This makes the attacker the 13th largest Bitcoin holder globally — bigger than some national treasuries. LuBian still retains 11,886 BTC, currently valued at around $1.35 billion. This incident now overtakes the Bybit hack from February 2025, which involved $1.5 billion in stolen crypto. The biggest crypto hack in history forces a renewed focus on key security and wallet management in crypto. Legacy mining operations are especially vulnerable due to outdated or poorly implemented cryptographic protocols. Arkham’s revelation stresses the need for periodic security audits in large crypto holdings.
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The scale and secrecy of this hack are alarming for both investors and infrastructure developers. This event proves that major breaches can go unnoticed for years without robust chain analysis tools. For the crypto industry, the lesson is clear: security must evolve as fast as value does. LuBian’s case is now the benchmark in crypto theft — and a warning for all in the ecosystem.
