After Revelation Friday from Cryptocurrency Exchange Firm Bybit, which hackers stole digital tokens worth about 1.5 billion dollars – in what is perhaps the biggest crypto heist of all time – wrote CEO Ben Zhou on X Sunday that It has refilled its reserves. Bybit was able to do this through a mix of emergency loans and large deposits.
Zhou told users on Friday that their funds were “secure” and the company would repay everyone who was affected. Less than 72 hours later, Zhou said Bybet had restored the balance of the exchange and kept the customer’s withdrawals open, although he did not explain the stolen crypto.
The scope of the Bybit theft surpasses the previous record of a $ 615 million heist of Ethereum and US coins from the Ronin Network in 2022.
How this crypto heist happened
Crypto was taken during a routine internal transfer from its Ethereum coin “Cold Wallet”, which is a digital wallet that is typically hidden offline and is considered more secure, according to Zhou. After Bitcoin, Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency.
In a previous note about X, Zhou said the hackers had used a “musket transaction”, which is probably a spelling error of “masked transaction” to trick the exchange into cryptographically signing a change in the code for the smart contract controlling a wallet that holds his stock of Ethereum.
“Be sure all other cold wallets are safe,” Zhou wrote. “All withdrawals are normal.”
BYBIT said the hackers took advantage of security features and then transferred the money to an unidentified address. After the theft, the value of Ethereum fell by approx. 4 percent on Friday, leaving it worth $ 2,641.41 per Coin.
Suspect identified
The Lazarus group, a hacking organization under North Korea’s general reconnaissance General Bureau, has been identified by blockchain security experts. Blockchain analyst Zachxbt said he had presented evidence connecting the attack to Lazarus, citing patterns that were in accordance with the recent North Korean cyberattacks.
North Korea has been accused of several hacks for cryptocurrency exchanges of stealing digital assets, laundering the funds and using them to finance his nuclear weapons program. In January, the United States, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement accusing North Korea for approx. 660 million dollars in cryptot theft in 2024 alone.
Cryptocurrency has become a preferred method of laundering money of criminals to clean their illegal means.
Bybit’s famous early investors and 60 m users
BYBT was founded in 2018 and is reportedly counting President Donald Trump and former Paypal chief Peter Thiel among its early investors.
BYBIT says it has more than 60 million users around the world and provides access to different cryptocurrencies.