In what is a concerning development for the cryptocurrency industry, Bybit has confirmed a $1.4 billion Ethereum hack. Indeed, both the cryptocurrency exchange founder, Ben Zhou, and the platform itself have confirmed the incident in a post to X (formerly Twitter).
The hacker stole more than $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether and MetaETH (mETH), according to on-chain blockchain security analyst ZackXBT. Zhouh updated users, unveiling a Bybit ETH multisig cold wallet that had made the transfer to a warm wallet to steal the funds. However, he assured users, “All other cold wallets are secure.”
JUST IN: Bybit founder confirms $1.4 billion $ETH hack.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) February 21, 2025
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Bybit Faces $1.4 Billion Ethereum Hack, Confirms Founder
The cryptocurrency market has taken massive strides forward this year. Indeed, 2025 has seen a host of nations embrace the asset class like never before. Yet, a key part of that growth is still learning how to protect it. For much of its existence, theft of crypto funds has been an increasing concern.
The crypto market saw another massive breach take place Friday. Specifically, notable cryptocurrency exchange Bybit confirmed that $1.4 billion in Ethereum was hacked. Indeed, the platform lost the funds after losing control of an offline ETH wallet, the founder confirmed.
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“Unfortunately, this transaction was manipulated through a sophisticated attack that masked the singing interface, displaying the correct address while altering the underlying smart contract logic,” the platform said. This allowed the hacker to gain control of the specified wallet in question and transfer funds.
“Our security team, alongside leading blockchain forensic experts and partners, is actively investigating the incident,” the platform added. Additionally, they assured that “all client funds are safe, and our operations continue as usual without disruption.”
The situation is an unfortunate byproduct of the growing industry. Yet, it hasn’t gone unchallenged. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new Cyber Unit to combat cryptocurrency fraud. It’s the latest push to embrace crypto from the country. Moreover, it should help to deter things like this from continuing to happen.