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Following the Bybit hack, the team organized a livestream to deliberate on the recent billion-dollar hack that transpired on the exchange. Bybit’s founder Ben Zhao clarified that the platform was undergoing “massive withdrawals” but emphasized, “It’s not an issue—We have enough tokens to give to clients.” Moreover, in a calculated maneuver, a bridge loan secured 80% of the stolen ethereum, Zhao said.
Bybit’s $20B Crypto Empire: Team Vows Funds Are Safe in Bold Livestream
On Friday, Bybit announced that an intricate attack compromised one ETH multisig cold wallet, redirecting funds to an unidentified address. The firm stated it is probing the incident with blockchain forensic experts while assuring that all other cold wallets remain secure and client funds are safe. The exchange then revealed it would host a livestream to “address the latest ETH wallet incident, provide key updates, and answer your questions.”
Ben Zhou’s Livestream on the Latest ETH Wallet Incident LIVE now. https://t.co/mBwD9ubGIl
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 21, 2025
Zhao revealed that the exchange has been experiencing “massive withdrawals” following the breach. Despite the hack and the uptick in withdrawals, the CEO continued to ensure that all tokens remain available for withdrawal from the centralized crypto exchange. Before the livestream, Conor Grogan, Director of Product Strategy and Business Operations at Coinbase, remarked that Bybit “appears to be processing withdrawals just fine after their hack.”
“They have $20B+ in assets on platform and their cold wallets are untouched,” Grogan said. “Given the isolated nature of the signing hack, and how well capitalized Bybit is, I don’t expect there to be contagion.” In another X post Grogan said this is not like FTX at all, stating:
A minute into the FTX bankrun it was clear they had no funds to withdraw. I know everyone has PTSD but Bybit is not an FTX situation, if it was I would be screaming it out. They will be fine.
Currently, onchain metrics reveal that Bybit possesses roughly $19.517 billion while experiencing substantial outflows. During the livestream, Zhao observed that even amid an uptick in withdrawals, Bybit has “enough tokens to give to clients.” As Grogan mentioned, all of the cold wallets Bybit commands have yet to deploy funds, but Bybit’s hot wallets have seen a flurry of activity from not only ether but tokens like USDT, TRX, ARB, and many others.
During the livestream, the Bybit CEO emphasized that a bridge loan ensured that 80% of the diverted ethereum remained protected. Zhao explained the firm was getting a great deal of help from industry partners. Grogan also noted on Friday, after the Bybit livestream, that the Bybit hacker “is now the 14th largest ETH holder in the world.” He also assumes the attacker could be from North Korea.
Additionally, Arkham Intelligence started a bounty to find out who was behind the Bybit attack. Renowned onchain analyst, ZachXBT who discovered the security breach and notified the public told Arkham on X, “My submission has been sent identifying the organization behind the attack using onchain data.” A person replied to the post saying that if the submission was successful, “ZachXBT deserves more than this.”
The onchain analyst responded:
Nah doesn’t help as much to know who it is when it’s a nation state threat actor.