Bybit has successfully repaid a substantial loan of 40,000 Ethereum, valued at nearly $100 million, to Bitget following a recent security incident that saw the exchange lose $1.4 billion. The repayment, as reported by blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain, took place on Feb. 24, with Bybit transferring the funds back to Bitget from its cold wallet.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed the return of the loan on Feb. 25, expressing confidence in Bybit’s ability to repay. She emphasized that the loan was given as a gesture of support without any interest or collateral requirements. Chen stated, “No interest, no collateral—this was simply about supporting a peer in need. Great to see Bybit fully recovered, and we never doubted the return of the loan.”
The loan was extended by Bitget on Feb. 22 after Bybit fell victim to an exploit that affected its Ethereum cold wallet. Bitget clarified that the funds for the loan came from its own reserves and not user deposits. Additionally, on-chain analysis revealed that Bybit transferred an additional 47,800 ETH, approximately $118 million, from its cold wallet to Binance to settle loans obtained from other institutions and large crypto holders.
These repayments come after Bybit announced that it had closed its ETH liquidity gap, restoring its client asset ratio to a 1:1 match. However, the attacker behind the security incident has laundered around 100,000 ETH, equivalent to $250 million, through complex steps, including breaking the stolen funds into smaller portions and utilizing THORChain for cross-chain transactions.
Despite these laundering efforts, the hacker still retains control over 399,000 ETH, surpassing holdings attributed to prominent figures like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin or even the Ethereum Foundation. In response to these challenges, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed plans to develop a system to prevent hacks and enhance industry-wide efforts to recover lost funds.
As Bybit continues to navigate the aftermath of the security incident and repayment of the loan, the exchange remains committed to strengthening its security measures and upholding its commitment to clients and the broader crypto community.