Bybit faced a major crisis after a $1.5 billion hack, which caused a $5.2 billion drop in reserves in just one day. Despite this setback, the exchange acted quickly. They secured $172.5 million in emergency loans and kept operations running without freezing withdrawals.
DeFiLlama reported that Bybit’s reserves fell sharply as over 350,000 withdrawal requests came in. However, the exchange still holds more than $11.4 billion in assets. CEO Ben Zhou assured users that all withdrawal requests were processed within 12 hours. The team worked hard to clear the backlog and return to normal operations.
The hack occurred on February 21 and targeted Bybit’s Ethereum multisig cold wallet. This vulnerability allowed unauthorized transactions, moving funds from a cold wallet to a warm wallet. Bybit decided to keep withdrawals open, which helped prevent mass panic among users.
Industry experts praised Bybit’s response for its speed and transparency. Casey Taylor from Dragonfly called it a “masterclass in crisis communication.” He noted that Zhou addressed the situation publicly within 30 minutes, which helped stop rumors.
Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs, said Bybit set a new standard for crisis management by taking responsibility and providing clear information. Austin Federa from Double Zero pointed out that traditional crisis strategies often fail in Web3, making Bybit’s response a valuable lesson.
Blockchain analysts at SpotOnChain reported that Bybit secured emergency funds from Binance, Bitget, and MEXC within seven hours. This move helped stabilize the exchange and rebuild user trust.
Later, security experts confirmed that the attack was carried out by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
