Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, has experienced a significant hack. A hacker stole over $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) and staked ETH. The CEO, Ben Zhou, confirmed the incident on X. He explained that the attacker exploited a vulnerability in the exchange’s ETH cold wallet.
This hack is one of the largest in the crypto market. Following the news, several cryptocurrency prices dropped. Ethereum’s price lost some of its gains, but the overall market reaction was not severe at that time.
In an update, Bybit explained what happened. They detected unauthorized activity in one of their ETH cold wallets. The issue arose when their ETH multisig cold wallet made a transfer to a warm wallet.
The hacker manipulated this transaction. They masked the signing interface, showing the correct address while changing the smart contract logic. This allowed the hacker to take control of the cold wallet and transfer its assets to an unknown address.
Despite the attack, Zhou assured users that Bybit remains solvent. He stated that the exchange can cover the losses from the hack. He emphasized that all client assets are backed 1-to-1. Withdrawals from the exchange were not affected by the incident.
Zhou posted on X that Bybit could handle the loss, even if the stolen funds were not recovered. Several blockchain security firms, including ZachXBT, reported that the hacker had started moving the stolen funds to new addresses.
