What if someone had secretly stolen billions in Bitcoin – and no one had noticed for years?
That’s exactly what apparently happened in the largest crypto hack in history to date: A full 127,426 BTC were stolen from the Chinese mining pool LuBian in 2020. Today, in August 2025, this theft comes to light. The suspected perpetrator? Still active. The traces? Incomplete, but reconstructed through the blockchain. And the damage? Approximately 14.5 billion US dollars.
What happened?
Research by Arkham Intelligence confirms: The incident apparently occurred in the spring of 2020. At that time, the LuBian mining pool was one of many offerings where miners could pool their computing power to collectively find blocks and share block rewards.
But then the pool suddenly disappeared from the net. No farewell message, no handover, no payouts to users. For a long time, the case was considered "unsolved" - until now.
On-chain analysis reconstructed that a single wallet recipient progressively collected Bitcoin from various mining addresses at LuBian over several weeks. The total outflow amounted to exactly 127,426 BTC – a number that immediately raises alarm bells in the crypto world. For comparison: This is more than the official Bitcoin holdings of MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Block combined.
The perpetrator is still sitting on billions
Even more frightening: The suspected hacker has never fully moved their coins. According to Arkham, approximately 11,886 BTC, or about 1.35 billion dollars, remain on a handful of wallets. These addresses are thus among the largest known Bitcoin wallets in the world - comparable to state holdings or cold wallets of major exchanges.
Why the perpetrator did not sell the coins remains speculation. Perhaps out of fear of traceability. Perhaps out of technical caution. Perhaps also out of pure opportunism - because who knows: Should the Bitcoin price continue to rise, this wallet could one day be worth more than entire companies.
What lessons can be learned from this?
The story of the LuBian hack is more than just a curious crime story. It shows:
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Decentralized infrastructure does not protect against human error.
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Even with mining pools – which are often considered "secure" – abuse can happen.
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The transparency of the blockchain makes it possible to clarify such cases even years later.
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Bitcoin remains censorship-resistant, but not automatically "secure" if you do not self-custody.
This insight is particularly central for miners: Anyone who does not control their own infrastructure becomes dependent on others – whether it's mining pools, wallets, or trading platforms.
Conclusion: Trust is good – self-responsibility is better
The LuBian case is a cautionary tale from the early days of crypto mining. It reminds us how important it is to take responsibility for one's own infrastructure.
Anyone entering Bitcoin mining today – whether professionally or as a hobby – should deliberately pay attention to transparency, control, and long-term security. This is precisely why the Nerdminer is enjoying increasing popularity as a minimalist, open tool for Bitcoin enthusiasts: You know what it does. You see what it calculates. And you decide how you use it.
👉 Start your own mining experience now – secure, transparent, and independent.
Discover Nerdminer V2 now.
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