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Bybit Suffers Largest Hack in History, Losing $$ 1.5 Billion in Cryptocurrency
Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has suffered a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of approximately $$ 1.5 billion in Ethereum. The incident occurred during a routine transfer from a cold wallet to a hot wallet, when hackers managed to manipulate the transaction and gain control of the funds.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured that the company remains solvent and that all customer assets are secured at a 1:1 ratio. In addition, the platform continues to operate normally, with withdrawals and other operations unaffected.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the attack may have been perpetrated by the Lazarus Group, a hacking group linked to the North Korean government, known for previous large-scale cyberattacks.
In response to the incident, Bybit has launched a rewards program, offering up to 10% of the recovered amount to cybersecurity experts who assist in recovering the stolen funds. This means that the reward could reach up to $$ 140 million, depending on the amount recovered.
This attack represents the largest theft in cryptocurrency history, surpassing previous incidents such as the Ronin Network in 2022 and the Mt. Gox exchange in 2014. Despite the magnitude of the theft, the impact on the market was relatively limited, with Bitcoin falling by around 3.5% and Ethereum falling by 4% in the last 24 hours.
Bybit has reaffirmed its commitment to the security of its customers' assets and is working closely with experts to strengthen its protection measures and prevent similar incidents in the future.
