Blockchain Bandit moves $172M in stolen ETH after 2 years

Blockchain Bandit, a hacker known for exploiting weak private keys, has transferred 51,000 Ether (CRYPTO:ETH), valued at $172 million, after nearly two years of inactivity.

The movement was reported by blockchain investigator ZachXBT on December 30.

The funds were moved from 10 wallet addresses to a multi-signature address, “0xC45…1D542.”

Transactions occurred in batches of 5,000 Ether each between 8:54 PM and 9:18 PM UTC.

This marks the first activity since January 2023, when the same Ether was last moved.

At that time, the hacker also transferred 470 Bitcoin.

The Blockchain Bandit’s method involved “Ethercombing,” a brute force technique to uncover weak private keys.

According to a 2019 report by Independent Security Evaluators, the hacker successfully guessed 732 private keys tied to 49,060 transactions.

This method enabled the theft of approximately 45,000 Ether, with most activity peaking between 2016 and 2018.

Cybersecurity analyst Adrian Bednarek explained that the Bandit’s approach relied on identifying faulty code and random number generators to exploit vulnerabilities.

While the hacker’s identity remains unknown, Bednarek previously speculated that a state actor, such as North Korea, could be responsible.

The incident highlights broader cybersecurity challenges in the crypto industry.

A report from on-chain security firm Cyvers revealed that hackers stole over $2.3 billion in 2024, representing a 40% increase from 2023.

Centralised exchanges and custodian platforms were primary targets, with access control vulnerabilities accounting for 81% of the value stolen.

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum price was $3,337.96.