Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit's CEO Ben Zhou said that 27.95% of the funds lost in the $1.4 billion exploit engineered by the North Korean Lazarus Group have gone dark or become untraceable.
"Total hacked funds of USD 1.4bn around 500k ETH. 68.57% remain traceable, 27.59% have gone dark, 3.84% have been frozen. The untraceable funds primarily flowed into mixers then through bridges to P2P and OTC platforms," Zhou said in an executive summary published on X on Monday.
The untraceable funds were moved into mixers before being transferred through bridges to P2P (peer-to-peer) and OTC (over-the-counter) platforms, the post explained, mentioning the use of Wasabi, a crypto mixer, to wash off a certain amount of BTC, following which a portion of these funds entered into other mixers, including Railgun, Tornado Cash and CryptoMixer.
The malicious entity then executed multiple cross-chain swaps through Thorchain, eXch, Lombard, LiFi, Stargate and SunSwap, with the final stage involving the conversion of these illicit funds into more liquid assets.
The North Korea-linked Lazarus Group hacked Bybit in February, draining 500,000 ether (ETH) by taking "control of the specific ETH cold wallet and transferring all the ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address."
Forensics reveal that of the hacked funds, a total of 432,748 ETH, representing 84.45%, has been transferred from ether to bitcoin via Thorchain. Notably, 67.25% of these funds, amounting to 342,975 ETH (around $960.33 million), has been converted into 10,003 BTC and distributed across 35,772 wallets with an average of 0.28 BTC per wallet.
Further, 1.17% of the funds, or 5,991 ETH (approximately $16.77 million), remains on the Ethereum blockchain, stashed across 12,490 wallets.
Lastly, the Lazarus Bounty initiative has received 5,443 bounty reports in two months, of which, 70 have been deemed valid. Zhou said the exchange needs "more bounty hunters that can decode mixers as we need a lot of help there down the road."
For example, the 22% tax rate in 2024 applies to incomes between $94,300 and $201,050 if you're married and file a joint return. However, it only takes $47,150 to reach the 22% tax bracket if you're single. Your standard deduction is cut in half, as well, from $29,200 as a married couple to $14,600 as a single filer.
It may not make a big difference if your wife had a large income, but if you earned the majority of your family's income and will continue to earn the same amount, your tax liability will increase.
Where You'll Live
It's also a good idea to put some serious thought into where you plan to live in retirement. I want to highlight this point given your situation. Since your ex-wife is keeping your current house, you may want to take some additional time to figure out your plan.
That is perfectly reasonable, especially if you lived in the house for a long time and are now dealing with the emotional toll of moving out. It may be a good idea to rent for a short period even if you plan to ultimately buy something. However, renting throughout retirement is a route that many choose to take as well.
Whatever you decide to do, just make sure that your housing expenses are accounted for in your retirement plan. Your home can often represent a significant portion of your living expenses.
Closing Any Gaps
Once you've assessed where you stand in terms of your ability to cover your retirement expenses, you can see if there’s any shortfall you need to make up, like saving for your kids’ college educations. If there is, you can focus these last few years on those needs.
Also remember that you qualify for catch-up contributions, meaning you can contribute up to $30,500 to your 401(k) in 2024. Maxing out your 401(k) over the next five years can really help you make up some ground if you’re behind on your retirement savings.
Lastly, if you can, try timing your retirement so you avoid making your first 401(k) withdrawals during a market downturn. If the market takes a dive right before you plan to stop working, waiting a little longer can provide you with significant protection from sequence risk by delaying your withdrawals.
Bottom Line
With a goal of retiring in the next four or five years, the key is to follow through with your financial assessment and make any necessary changes. Your divorce poses some unique items to consider, such as a change to your tax filing status and living arrangement. If we run into a bear market as you prepare to retire, you may want to consider delaying retirement or holding off on your 401(k) withdrawals. Starting retirement in a down market can have an outsized negative impact on your long-term financial security.
