THORChain Records Unprecedented $4.6B in Volume Amid Bybit Hack Fallout
THORChain, a decentralized cross-chain swapping protocol, has witnessed a surge in transaction volume following the Bybit hack, though not for desirable reasons. Observers indicate that hackers used the platform to launder stolen funds, driving unprecedented activity.
According to DefiLlama, THORChain processed $4.66 billion in swaps in the week ending March 2, its highest weekly volume ever recorded. Over $1 billion of that volume was processed on Sunday alone.
The activity spike follows the February 22 security breach at Bybit, where a North Korean-linked hacker group stole $1.4 billion in ether (ETH). Blockchain analysts report that a significant portion of these stolen funds moved through THORChain, among other platforms, in an effort to obfuscate their origins.
“From the initial Bybit Exploiter wallet, funds were dispersed through an expanding web of intermediary wallets,” blockchain analytics firm Nansen detailed in a report shared with CoinDesk. “As funds moved further from the original wallet, the number of intermediary wallets increased, and transaction sizes became smaller.”
Nansen identified THORChain, along with Paraswap, Mantle, OK DEX, and DODO, as the primary platforms used to launder the stolen ETH.
CoinDesk has reached out to THORChain for comment on the situation.
Onchain analyst EmberCN noted that within ten days, hackers successfully laundered the entire 499,000 ETH balance stolen from Bybit, a process that coincided with a 23% drop in ETH’s price, from $2,780 to $2,130.
“THORChain, as the primary channel for laundering, saw $5.9 billion in transaction volume and generated $5.5 million in handling fees during this period,” EmberCN stated on X.
