WEBDESK (AzaadEnglish): Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, reported on Friday that hackers had stolen $1.5 billion worth of digital assets in a major security breach.
Bybit CEO and founder Ben Zhou addressed the Bybit hack during an online chat, assuring users that their funds are safe.
According to the company, the attackers exploited security protocols during a transaction, which enabled them to transfer funds to a different address.
This compromised a cold wallet containing 400,000 Ethereum (ETH) that was stolen on Friday.
Meanwhile, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou added that they had raised nearly 80% of the stolen funds through bridge loans, encouraging users to stay calm.
Crypto investigator ZachXBT, through Arkham exchange, linked the $1.44 billion Bybit hack on Friday to the infamous North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group, which has been allegedly responsible for some of the top attacks on digital asset platforms.
Other major incidents from the Lazarus group include the $625 million Ronin Network (Axie Infinity) heist, the Atomic Wallet breach with a $100 million exodus, the $54 million CoinEx hack and the Alphapo exploit of $60 million.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou added that they had raised nearly 80% of the stolen funds from the Bybit hack through bridge loans, encouraging users to stay calm.
Exchanges support Bybit in difficult times
Notably, Arkham data shows that Bitget transferred 40,000 ETH ($106 million), a quarter of all its Ethereum holdings, to the Bybit Cold Wallet on Feb. 21 at exactly 19:44 (UTC). Market intelligence firm Lookonchain suggested that the exchange shifted the funds to Bybit to provide more liquidity to support customer withdrawals.
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