Bybit Suffers Largest Cryptocurrency Hack in History, Losing $1.4 Billion in Ethereum

The cryptocurrency industry is facing another major security breach as Bybit, one of the leading global exchanges, has fallen victim to the largest hack in its history. Reports confirm that over $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) and staked Ethereum (stETH) was stolen from Bybit’s wallets, surpassing previous large-scale crypto heists.

The attack has triggered market-wide volatility, particularly in the Ethereum futures market, with significant liquidations taking place.

Market Impact and Liquidations

Following the security breach, Ethereum traders faced $76 million in liquidations within just four hours, according to data from CoinGlass. The past 24 hours saw over 183,000 traders liquidated, with total liquidations surpassing $499 million.

Ethereum’s price fell 3% within an hour, trading at $2,727, while Bitcoin recorded a 1% drop, currently priced at $98,091.

Bybit CEO Confirms Security Breach

Bybit’s co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou confirmed the incident, stating that the hack originated from a manipulated smart contract within the exchange’s ETH cold wallet.

"A planned cold wallet transfer was altered through a security vulnerability, allowing unauthorized access to a significant portion of our holdings," Zhou said.

Despite the substantial loss, Bybit maintains that it remains financially solvent and is implementing enhanced security measures to prevent future breaches.

Hacker Activity and Investigation

Blockchain security analyst ZachXBT reported that the stolen Ethereum has already been distributed across 39 different wallets, a strategy often used by hackers to avoid detection.

In response to the attack, on-chain intelligence firm Arkham has launched a $50,000 bounty to help identify the perpetrators.

"We have initiated a bounty program to gather information leading to the identification of those behind this attack," Arkham announced.

A Historic Breach in the Cryptocurrency Industry

Bybit’s $1.4 billion exploit now ranks as the largest crypto hack on record, surpassing:

• Axie Infinity Ronin Network (March 2022) – $625M stolen
• Mt. Gox Collapse (2014) – 850,000 BTC lost (~$460M at the time)
• Poly Network Exploit (August 2022) – $611M drained, later partially returned

With regulatory bodies and cybersecurity firms now monitoring the situation, this incident highlights the persistent vulnerabilities within the cryptocurrency industry and raises further concerns about security risks for digital asset investors.