The cryptocurrency market was rocked by a devastating blow as Bybit, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, fell victim to a massive hack resulting in the loss of $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. This incident has been deemed the largest crypto hack in history, sending shockwaves throughout the industry.
Bybit, a centralized crypto exchange based in Singapore, was the target of this hack, with early estimates indicating a staggering loss of over $1.46 billion in Ethereum. The CEO of Bybit revealed that the hack targeted the exchange’s Ethereum multisig cold wallet, where attackers manipulated the signing interface to deceive signers into approving a change in the wallet’s smart contract logic. This manipulation ultimately allowed the theft of all Ethereum stored in that wallet.
In a statement addressing the hack, CEO Ben Zhou shared, “Bybit ETH multisig cold wallet just made a transfer to our warm wallet about 1 hr ago. It appears that this specific transaction was musked, all the signers saw the musked UI which showed the correct address and the URL was from Safe. However, the signing message was to change the smart contract logic of our ETH cold wallet. This resulted in the hacker taking control of the specific ETH cold wallet we signed and transferring all ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address.”
Following the hack, Bybit announced scheduled maintenance on its live server, with the CEO assuring users that all other cold wallets are secure and withdrawals are operating normally. The exchange has pledged to keep users informed as the investigation progresses and has requested assistance in tracking the stolen funds.
The attacker responsible for the hack has transferred tens of thousands of Ethereum to 48 different addresses, prompting calls for exchanges and services to blacklist these addresses to prevent further movement of the stolen funds. The price of Ethereum experienced a sharp decline in the aftermath of the hack, dropping by 5% to reach a low of around $2,680.
Despite the significant loss incurred by the hack, Bybit’s CEO has reassured users that affected clients will be reimbursed for their lost funds. He emphasized that Bybit remains solvent and all client assets are 1-to-1 backed, ensuring that any losses from the hack can be covered.
Unfortunately, this incident marks the largest crypto hack in history, surpassing the previous record held by the Ronin Network where $625 million was stolen. The repercussions of this hack are likely to be felt across the cryptocurrency market, underscoring the ongoing challenges and risks associated with digital asset security.