Ben Zhou, Bybit CEO, assured the public that user funds were safe and that the platform could cover losses following the largest crypto exchange hack in history.
Security veterans and concerned crypto community members rallied behind Bybit on Friday, Feb. 21, after the exchange lost over $1.4 billion to hackers.
The largest-ever crypto exchange hack occurred while Bybit was attempting a routine transfer, Zhou said during a livestream following the incident. Specific details about the breach points remain scarce. However, initial reports suggest that hackers tricked Bybit’s signers into authorizing a malicious transaction from the platform’s Ethereum (ETH) cold wallet.
Bybit employs a multi-sig structure designed by Safe to manage its ERC-20 token reserves. This wallet requires multiple team members to sign off on transactions before execution.
OxCygaar, a blockchain developer and Abstract Chain contributor, theorized that bad actors attacked each signer and somehow used malware to alter the multi-sig UI. The ramifications of this scenario are ghastly, as it means the hackers may have individually identified each signer and compromised their computers or crypto wallets.
idk how they knew the multisig signers, but this type of attack has happened in the past.
requires identifying each signer and then getting them to unknowingly install malware so their multisig ui is compromised
— cygaar (@0xCygaar) February 21, 2025
Community backs Bybit, CEO sources bridge loan
ARKM tokens for any information leading to the hacker’s identification. Additionally, Safe, Bybit’s multi-sig provider, announced ongoing maintenance to strengthen safety.
NEW ARKHAM INTEL BOUNTY: BYBIT HACK
We’ve created & funded a bounty to help identify the person or organization behind today’s >$1B Bybit hack.
Submissions to this bounty will be shared with the Bybit team to support their investigation.
Reward: 50K ARKM
Bounty:… pic.twitter.com/1X3QgmRdda
— Arkham (@arkham) February 21, 2025
Also, Zhou said Bybit was working with other industry players like Binance, OKX, and KuCoin and law enforcement to reach a resolution. “We have filed a police report,” Zhou shared on the livestream.
Zhou and Shunyet Jan, Bybit’s head of derivatives, also revealed that the exchange is negotiating a bridge loan with partners to restore Ethereum withdrawals. According to Jan, the platform will offer collateral from its treasury, primarily in Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins. However, Zhou emphasized that Bybit can fully cover the loss, noting that the exchange manages over $20 billion in assets.
Bybit’s leadership urged the crypto community to remain patient amid platform congestion, reassuring users that other ERC-20 withdrawals and normal operations continue as usual.
Bybit is Solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss.
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 21, 2025
