Bybit lost $1.4 billion as a result of a hack: details of the largest theft
The largest theft in cryptocurrency history shook the Bybit exchange — hackers stole tokens worth over $1.4 billion. The attack targeted the exchange's cold wallet containing Ethereum and related tokens.
The incident was discovered by blockchain security expert ZachXBT, who immediately urged users to blacklist the addresses associated with the hack. Bybit's co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou confirmed the hack and provided details of the incident.
According to Zhou, about an hour before the theft, funds were transferred from the exchange's multisignature wallet to an intermediary wallet. The transaction was disguised as a legitimate operation, but contained malicious code that altered the smart contract logic and allowed funds to be withdrawn.
"All other cold wallets are safe. All withdrawals are operating normally. We will continue to keep you updated on the situation's development. We appreciate any team that can help trace the stolen funds," said the head of Bybit.
Impact on the Market
After the hack was confirmed, the Ethereum price fell by more than 3%. This is not surprising given the scale of the theft — it has become one of the largest in cryptocurrency industry history.
The exchange assured clients that it remains solvent even in the event that the stolen funds cannot be recovered. "All client assets are backed 1:1 — we can cover the losses," Zhou emphasized.
February Wave of Attacks
The Bybit hack is not the only serious incident in February 2025. On February 14, the zkLend money market protocol on the Starknet platform lost $9.5 million due to a vulnerability exploit. According to Cyvers, the perpetrator attempted to launder funds through the Railgun protocol, but it returned the stolen funds.
On February 5, the decentralized exchange Jupiter and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fell victim to social media hacks. In both cases, hackers used compromised accounts to promote fake memecoins.
Shaw Walters, founder of Eliza Labs, also suffered from an account hack on X despite two-factor authentication being enabled. The perpetrator posted fraudulent links from his page.
The current situation demonstrates the growing sophistication of hackers and the need to strengthen security measures in the cryptocurrency industry. The scale of the attack on Bybit underscores the importance of constantly improving protection systems even for the largest market players.