Hackers Steal $1.4 Billion From Exchange Bybit In Biggest-Ever Crypto Heist
Crypto exchange Bybit said it was hacked, resulting in what analysts estimate was the loss of almost $1.4 billion worth of tokens in the biggest theft ever committed in the industry. According to Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou, the attacker exploited a "masked" UI and URL, deceiving wallet signers into unknowingly approving a malicious transaction. This allowed them to alter the smart contract logic and gain control of the ETH cold wallet, draining its funds. While the incident remains under investigation, Zhou reassured users that other cold wallets are secure and withdrawals remain operational.
The hacker now holds almost 500,000 ETH—more than Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who has 240,000 ETH. The stolen ETH has been distributed across 53 wallets, which are being actively monitored by blockchain security and smart contract auditing teams. Given the high-profile nature of the attack, selling such a large amount of ETH poses a challenge. The wallets are tracked in real-time, making it difficult for the hacker to offload the funds without detection.
The breach immediately triggered a rush of withdrawals from Bybit as users feared potential insolvency. Zhou said outflows had stabilized. To reassure customers, he announced that Bybit had secured a bridge loan from undisclosed partners to cover any unrecoverable losses and maintain operations.
Analysts at Elliptic firm linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking collective notorious for siphoning billions of dollars from the cryptocurrency industry. The group is known for exploiting security vulnerabilities to finance North Korea’s regime, often using sophisticated laundering methods to obscure the flow of funds.
The Lazarus Group’s history of targeting crypto platforms dates back to 2017 when the group infiltrated four South Korean exchanges and stole $200 million worth of bitcoin. As law enforcement agencies and crypto-tracking firms work to trace the stolen assets, industry experts warn that large-scale thefts remain a fundamental risk.
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