Updated on February 22, 2025
1. Bybit was stolen for $1.5 billion, and the North Korean hacker group Lazarus was accused of being behind it
In the early hours of this morning, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit confirmed that its ETH cold wallet was hacked, and more than 400,000 ETH and stETH (worth about $1.5 billion) were transferred to an unknown address. Chain detective ZachXBT and security company Arkham pointed out that the attack was carried out by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group, and the method involved social engineering and smart contract vulnerability tampering. The attacker forged the transaction interface to induce multi-signature personnel to sign malicious contracts, and finally emptied the cold wallet assets.
Bybit stated that other wallets are secure, user funds are unaffected, and liquidity for withdrawals has been ensured through bridge loans. The platform is currently cooperating with a blockchain forensic team to track the funds, but recovery is extremely difficult.
2. Market panic spreads, BTC falls below $95,000, and ETH drops in sync.
Affected by the Bybit incident, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a general decline:
BTC: Fell over 2.4% in the last 24 hours, hitting a low of $94,830, currently recovering to around $95,890.
ETH: A sharp drop of 3% in a short time, falling below $2,700, currently reported at $2,685.
Altcoins: DOGE, SOL, XRP and others all fell over 3%, with the total market liquidation amount reaching $572 million, affecting over 170,000 people.
The technical indicators show significant short-term selling pressure for BTC, with the MACD indicator's bearish momentum increasing, and the support level moving down to $94,384; ETH is facing dual pressures from staking sell-offs and hacking incidents.
3. Institutional dynamics diverging: Bitcoin ETF net outflow, while Ethereum ETF attracts funds against the trend.
Bitcoin ETF: A net outflow of 1,288 BTC (approximately $124 million) in the past week, with Bitwise accounting for over 90% of the single-day outflow.
Ethereum ETF: Net inflow of 934 ETH (approximately $2.55 million) during the same period, with institutions like Fidelity increasing holdings, sending positive signals.
Market analysis suggests that the short-term pullback in BTC may be related to the risk aversion triggered by the Bybit incident, while institutional demand for ETH remains resilient, potentially benefiting from staking economics and Layer 2 ecosystem development in the long term.
4. Industry outlook: Regulation and security become the focus, with fork controversies resurfacing.
Safety warning: This incident has exposed vulnerabilities in multi-signature mechanisms, leading to a surge in demand for institutional-grade custody solutions. The SlowMist team advises users to be vigilant against malicious contracts and phishing attacks.
Fork discussion: Coinbase executive Conor Grogan pointed out that the incident may trigger calls for an Ethereum fork, but there are significant divisions within the community. Institutions like Bitfinex remain optimistic about BTC breaking through $200,000 within the year, primarily due to the continuous increase in the proportion of institutional holdings.
Strategy suggestion: With weak short-term market sentiment, investors are advised to control leverage positions and pay attention to changes in ETH staking rates and the main support level for BTC; for the long term, consider buying on dips for institutional accumulation targets, such as BTC spot ETFs and compliant stablecoin sectors.
Real-time data source: CoinGlass, Arkham, Lookonchain.
Risk warning: Market fluctuations are severe, please operate cautiously.
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This article is compiled from publicly available information and does not constitute investment advice.
