Bybit Breach: $1.5 Billion Ethereum Heist Marks Largest Crypto Hack in History
Cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit has fallen victim to a devastating cyberattack, resulting in the theft of nearly $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum and staked Ethereum. According to Engadget, this incident is being labeled as the largest theft in the history of cryptocurrency, with some experts suggesting it may be the biggest cyber heist of any kind.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed that hackers gained control over one of the platform’s offline (cold) wallets and altered the smart contract logic to transfer all Ethereum to an unknown address.
Rob Behnke, co-founder of blockchain security firm Halborn, told Bloomberg, “This isn’t just the biggest theft in crypto—it could be the largest cyber heist in history.”
This breach surpasses previous major crypto hacks, including the $620 million stolen from Ronin Network in 2022 and the $610 million taken from Poly Network in 2021. However, the infamous 2011 Mt. Gox hack, which saw 850,000 Bitcoins stolen, would now be worth over $81 billion based on current prices.
Before the hack, Bybit held total assets of $16.2 billion, with an average daily trading volume of $36 billion. The theft resulted in a loss of nearly 9% of the platform’s total assets. Following the breach, Ethereum’s price dropped by approximately 6.7%, while Bitcoin saw a 3% decline.
In a post, Zhou claimed that Bybit has already recovered 80% of the stolen funds and assured users that available reserves are sufficient to keep customer assets safe. The platform has also sought assistance from blockchain analysts and cybersecurity experts to help recover the stolen assets.
