New Delhi, Feb. 25 -- In what is being described as the largest ever theft of cryptocurrency, Ethereum worth $1.5 billion was stolen by hackers from Dubai-based exchange Bybit last week. This exceeds the previous reported record of $620 million of Ethereum and USD Coin stolen from Ronin Network in 2022.

Who carried out the latest heist is unknown, but Bybit has assured its users that it would pay any unrecovered money from its own funds, even if it means taking a bridge loan. That may come as relief for the aggrieved, although the odds of getting the money back look slim.

Not that nothing can be done to trace it. Crypto sleuths exist. Assisted by forensic software designed for the purpose, they trawl blockchain ledgers to spot transfer ...