In a recent update, we disclosed that almost $1.4 billion in Ethereum (ETH) had been stolen from Bybit after hackers swiftly swapped mETH and stETH for Ether using a decentralized exchange during one of its routine transfers. A preliminary investigation linked this attack to the North Korean state-backed notorious Lazarus Group, as detailed in our last news piece. Meanwhile, Bybit had its ETH reserve sharply declined from 443,691 ETH to just 63,807 ETH.
In a report published by CryptoQuant, the hack caused panic withdrawals and trust issues, leading to substantial outflows from the exchange. However, the team urgently responded by purchasing around 54,393 ETH at an average price of $2,711 for 100 million USDT. Per our research, this acquisition was made from Galaxy Digital and FalconX via the Over-The-Counter trades.
Days after this unfortunate occurrence, Lookonchain data has estimated that Bybit has received a total amount of 446,870 ETH ($1.23B). Fascinatingly, this was obtained through whale deposits, loans, and ETH purchases. Confirming this report, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has disclosed that the exchange has already made up for its “ETH gap” with a full restoration to 1:1 on client assets.
Source: Ben Zhou
The Lookonchain data also shows that Bybit has received major support from several exchanges, including “Antalpha, Bitget, Pionex, MEXC, Mirana, Sosovalue, Solana Foundation, TON Foundation, Blockchain Center Dubai, Ghaf Capital, Bitvavo, Tether, and Galaxy.” Specifically, Bybit acquired 12,653 sETH ($33,870,641) from MEXC as a loan and also received 10,000 ETH ($27,972,200) from Mirana Ventures. In total, 109,033 ETH ($304,120,922) was acquired from the various Centralized and Decentralized Exchanges. Meanwhile, 157,660 ETH ($437,817,881) was acquired over the counter.
Bybit’s Statement to the Industry
Following this immense support, Bybit has issued a statement commending the efforts of the crypto industry and the swift response.
“After last night’s security incident, we’re incredibly grateful for the swift action and support from our partners, security teams, and the broader crypto community. Your dedication and collaboration helped us navigate the situation effectively. Moments like these remind us that crypto is built on resilience, trust, and strong partnerships. We’re taking every necessary step to ensure the highest security standards and will continue to prioritize the safety of our users.”
Against the backdrop of this, the overall impact on the price of ETH was minimal, as the asset fell by around 6% to $2.65k in 24 hours. At press time, ETH had rebounded to $2.72k after earlier reaching the $2.8k level on the 24-hour price chart. Per our market data, the asset has had a positive return of 2.6% in the last seven days. However, its 24-hour gains remain negative as it declines by 2%.
According to our recent analysis, the asset still stands a chance of hitting $6k but must rely on regulatory changes and macroeconomic factors.