Bybit Suffers $1.5 Billion Crypto Heist, The Largest In History

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has confirmed a staggering $1.5 billion loss due to a hacking attack, marking what could be the biggest theft in digital asset history.

The company assured users that their funds were safe, as it vowed to reimburse all affected customers.

Bybit’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Zhou, disclosed that the hackers targeted the platform’s Ethereum cold wallet—a more secure storage method compared to online “hot” wallets. Zhou confirmed that approximately 400,000 Ethereum coins were stolen and transferred to an unknown address, as reported by the Financial Times (FT).

“As far as we know this could be the largest hack in the history of our industry,” Zhou stated in a live-stream update.

The Guardian explains that the security breach occurred when Bybit was conducting a routine transfer of Ethereum from its cold wallet to a “warm” wallet, which manages daily trading transactions. Hackers exploited security controls to access the funds. Although the precise method remains unclear, an investigation is underway.

The massive theft shook the cryptocurrency market, causing Ethereum’s value to drop by nearly 4% on Friday before partially recovering, as reported by the BBC. The hack has reignited concerns over the security of digital asset platforms, a long-standing issue in the crypto industry.

Bybit has called upon the “brightest minds” in cybersecurity and crypto analytics to help track and recover the stolen funds. The company is offering a 10% bounty—potentially amounting to $140 million—to those who assist in retrieving the stolen assets, as reported by The Guardian..

Despite the incident, Zhou reassured customers that Bybit remains solvent, with $20 billion in assets under management. He also noted that the exchange had secured a bridge loan from partners to cover any unrecovered losses, as reported by The Guardian.

Zhou wrote on X:

Bybit is Solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss.

— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 21, 2025

However, the exchange faced a surge in withdrawal requests following the attack, receiving over 350,000 customer withdrawal orders, leading to delays in processing, as noted by The Guardian.

Bybit has reported the theft to authorities and is working with blockchain analysts to trace the stolen funds. The attack underscores ongoing vulnerabilities within the crypto sector, despite efforts to enhance security.