The cryptocurrency market had regained momentum in recent months. Everything seemed relatively stable, but two recent incidents have once again sparked distrust and insecurity—and shaking them off won’t be easy.
A Record-Breaking Theft
Last Friday, Bybit, one of the leading cryptocurrency trading platforms, suffered a massive hack. The company detected “unauthorized activity” in its systems and confirmed that the attackers managed to steal $1.5 billion in ETH, making it the largest hack in crypto history.
To put things in perspective, this attack far surpasses previous major hacks, such as the $470 million stolen in the Mt. Gox hack in 2014, the $530 million from CoinCheck in 2018, or the $650 million from the Ronin Bridge exploit in 2022.
Lazarus Group: The Prime Suspect
So far, Bybit has not disclosed how the hack occurred, but it appears that the company’s computers were not compromised and that the issue originated from Safe, its “cold” wallet.
Cybersecurity firm Arkham Intelligence and blockchain investigator ZachXBT point to Lazarus Group, a hacker collective linked to North Korea, as the likely perpetrators.
Bybit Claims It Has Enough Reserves
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou reassured users that the platform has sufficient reserves to cover both the hack losses and the mass withdrawals triggered by the incident—mainly of stablecoins. However, for security reasons, some wallet functions were temporarily suspended.
Recently, Zhou confirmed that nearly all the stolen funds have already been replenished.
Panic Among Bybit Users
The attack caused panic among users, prompting many to withdraw their funds out of fear of further losses.
According to Coindesk, in the hours following the hack, Bybit saw $4 billion in withdrawals, reducing its managed crypto assets from $16.9 billion to $11.2 billion, according to data from DeFiLlama.
Can the Blockchain Be Reversed Like a “Ctrl-Z” Command?
Some users have suggested the possibility of performing a “rollback” on the Ethereum blockchain to undo the hackers’ actions and restore the stolen funds.
However, experts consulted by CoinDesk indicate that such a move would be extremely complex due to the interactions between smart contracts and Ethereum’s internal architecture.
Additionally, reaching a consensus on such a decision could even lead to a hard fork, similar to what happened with Ethereum and Ethereum Classic in 2016.
A Blow Just as the Market Was Picking Up
The hack took place on the same day that Coinbase reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), resolving a lawsuit without any fines or penalties.
Meanwhile, the reelection of Donald Trump had boosted the value of cryptocurrencies, but since then, a series of troubling events have cast a shadow over the market.
Memecoins, Trump, and Milei Under Scrutiny
Recent scandals have especially affected memecoins associated with political figures like Donald Trump and Javier Milei, the President of Argentina.
These cryptocurrencies saw explosive growth, followed by a sudden and suspicious crash, leaving thousands of investors with losses. This pattern suggests potential fraud schemes, where a few insiders profited while countless investors lost their money.
Distrust and Insecurity: Crypto’s Endless Struggle
The Bybit hack and the memecoin scandals reinforce the idea that the cryptocurrency world remains a high-risk environment.
While institutional interest and a recent period of stability had given investors some confidence, these new events will likely make many think twice before investing in crypto assets.
The Golden Rule: Don’t Leave Your Crypto on an Exchange
These attacks have once again proven that even major exchanges may not have sufficient security measures to protect user funds.
Experts recommend storing cryptocurrencies in hardware wallets instead of leaving them on trading platforms, where they remain vulnerable to attacks like this.
