Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit Exchange, promised clients that the exchange will stay viable despite the current attack.
On-chain data showed that the Bybit exchange returned 40,000 Ethereum worth about $100 million to Bitget. Bitget transferred the loan to Bybit three days earlier, following a compromise of the exchange’s infrastructure.
On-chain data indicated that Bybit refunded Bitget’s 40,000 Ethereum loan three days after receipt. Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange, transferred the ETH after Bybit suffered a multibillion-dollar breach last week.
On February 21, Bybit Exchange announced a cyberattack that resulted in the loss of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies. The exchange said that an intruder hacked a routine Ethereum transfer between its digital wallets.
The organization disclosed that the attacker moved the cryptocurrency to an unnamed location immediately after the intrusion. Bybit claimed that its security team was actively investigating the incident and has contacted blockchain analytics experts to assist.
Bybit’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ben Zhou, assured clients that their assets were protected. He noted that word of the hack had resulted in an upsurge in withdrawals. The CEO cautioned that there might be delays in processing them.
The CEO stated that the firm would stay solvent even if it was unable to recoup the monies lost in the breach.
Elliptic determined that North Korea’s Lazarus organization was responsible for the $1.5 billion breach after studying the transaction wallets used in the operation. Elliptic’s Chief Scientist, Tom Robinson, confirmed that they have tagged the thief’s addresses in their program. He stated that this would keep the money from being liquidated on other exchanges.
As it dealt with withdrawal requests, the Bybit exchange received loans from other exchangers, including Bitget and Binance. Arkham Intelligence discovered that Bybit received more than 88,000 Ether from Bitget and Binance accounts.
The intelligence group said that Bitget moved 40,000 Ether worth $106 million to a Bybit cold wallet on February 21. SpotOnChain data also showed that Bybit received 12,652 Ethereum worth $33.9 million from a MEXC hot wallet.
On-chain data showed that Bitget moved the digital assets to the exchange to keep them solvent and enhance market trust. Gracy Chen, Bitget‘s CEO, informed clients that the monies sent to Bybit came from the company’s reserves. She stated that the transferred monies would not damage the consumers’ holdings.
On-chain data also indicated that Bybit acquired $742 million in Ethereum between February 22 and 23. It further stated that Bybit purchased Ethereum from organizations like as Galaxy Digital and Wintermute via over-the-counter transactions.
Zhou later stated that his cryptocurrency exchange had replaced the Ether lost in the breach. The CEO claimed that a fresh audited proof of reserve report will be issued soon, demonstrating that the Bybit exchange has returned to 100% 1:1 on customer assets via Merkle Tree. SpotonChain also stated that Bybit has secured $172.5 million in loans from several banks to aid with withdrawals.
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