Crypto exchange Bybit recently experienced a significant security breach, resulting in the loss of nearly $1.5 billion (approximately Rs. 13,006 crore) worth of tokens. Analysts believe this is the largest theft ever in the industry, with North Korean hackers suspected to be responsible.
The hacker gained control of one of Bybit’s offline Ethereum wallets, as announced by the exchange’s CEO, Ben Zhou, on X. An estimated $1.46 billion (around Rs. 12,664 crore) in assets were transferred out of the wallet in a series of suspicious transactions. Research firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed approximately $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 12,144 crore) in outflows, noting that the funds have started moving to new addresses where they are being sold.
This hack surpasses the $611 million (about Rs. 5,299 crore) stolen from Poly Network in 2021, making it the largest-ever crypto theft. Rob Behnke, co-founder and executive chairman of blockchain security firm Halborn, described it as the “largest incident ever, not just crypto.”
In response to the hack, Zhou conducted a livestream on X to address clients’ concerns. Bybit has secured bridge loans with partners, covering about 80 percent of the loss, and is working to recover the funds and take legal action against the hackers. Zhou assured clients that their money is safe and withdrawals remain open, with over 70 percent of withdrawal requests processed following the hack.
Bybit, founded in 2018, is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, processing over $36 billion (approximately Rs. 3,12,223 crore) in daily average trading volume. Before the hack, the exchange had around $16.2 billion (roughly Rs. 1,40,500 crore) in assets, making the stolen Ether equivalent to about nine percent of its total assets.
The stolen funds included approximately $1.12 billion (around Rs. 1,40,492 crore) worth of Ether and various Ether derivatives. The attacker converted all Ether derivatives to Ether and transferred the funds in $27 million (roughly Rs. 234 crore) increments into more than 10 additional wallets. Many of these wallets still hold the stolen funds.
Arkham Intelligence attributed the hack to the North Korean group Lazarus, with crypto researcher ZachXBT providing definitive proof of their involvement. The attack is similar to those conducted against crypto exchange WazirX and lending protocol Radiant Capital, according to Shahar Madar, vice president of security and trust products at Fireblocks.
Following the theft, Ether’s value dropped by almost eight percent, and other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, also saw declines. Ethena Labs’ USDe, a popular token among crypto traders, briefly lost its one-to-one value, trading at around 98 cents.
Bybit continues to work on recovering the stolen funds and ensuring the security of its platform.
