Bitrace: Bybit was hacked for 1.5 billion USD, warning of a large-scale freezing wave targeting OTC groups and crypto payment companies in the coming months

ChainCatcher news, the encryption data analysis company Bitrace has issued a warning that following the $1.5 billion hack of Bybit, a large-scale freezing wave targeting OTC groups and cryptocurrency payment companies is expected to occur in the coming months.

Bitrace's research shows that this hacker organization not only uses unlicensed industry infrastructure for money laundering but also heavily relies on centralized platforms for dumping, which directly leads to a significant number of accounts of exchange users, whether intentionally or unintentionally receiving illicit funds, being subjected to risk control, and the business addresses of OTC merchants and payment institutions being frozen by Tether.

After the DMM exchange in Japan was hacked in 2024, the attackers transferred $600 million to the payment institution HuionePay, resulting in $29 million being frozen in its hot wallet. In 2023, Poloniex suffered a hack with losses exceeding $100 million, with hackers using over-the-counter trading to launder funds, causing significant disruptions to many OTC merchants' businesses.