Cryptocurrency exchange says it was victim of $1.5 billion hack

Associated Press ^ | 2/21/25

[Libloather]

A major cryptocurrency exchange says it was the victim of a sophisticated hack that stole about $1.5 billion worth of digital currency, marking one of the biggest online thefts of all time.

Bybit said Friday that a routine transfer of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, between digital wallets was “manipulated” by an attacker who transferred the crypto to an unidentified address.

The company sought to reassure customers that their cryptocurrency holdings with the exchange were safe. The company added that news of the hack had led to a surge in withdrawal requests and there could be delays in processing them.

Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, said on social media that his company would remain solvent even if the hacked crypto wasn’t recovered.

“We can cover the loss,” he said.

Stealing cryptocurrencies is a favorite tactic of hackers. North Korean state hackers, in particular, have been linked to several high-dollar crypto thefts in recent years.

[9YearLurker]

“Inside job?” is always a fair question.

[Callnote]

Juts another shitcoin bitting the dust , these cryptos are just forks in something that can’t be hacked or stopped . If you’re gonna build , build on bitcoin not from it .

[catnipman]

crypto: safe and effective ... even better than real money ...

[Vermont Lt]

Just wait until the Norks mess with the Trump coin. That will rattle some folk.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

—> We have been assured over and over again that “Blockchain” and Crypto are impossible to hack.

This was a hack of an exchange.

[Larry Lucido]

“We can cover the loss,” he said.

Charles Ponzi said the same thing.

[EnderWiggin1970]

If you look at where the problems in crypto are, over and over again the answer comes back to the same weak point: The on/off ramps into the world of cryptocurrency. Namely, these centralized exchanges that take fiat money and let people buy crypto with it.

Once you are within the crypto world the risks are gratly reduced, and are largely under your control - ie., you keeping your private keys safe. Even transacting between cryptos is much safer using decentralized exchanges. But the centralized exchanges that people use to transfer in and out of fiat with, those will always be the most vulnerable points. I look forward to when we can exist entirely within a crypto economy without the need to risk our money on such off-ramps.