Bybit CEO Ben Zhou shared a piece of exciting news with the community on Monday, February 24.
The platform’s founder said the exchange had fully covered its ETH reserves stolen during Friday’s hack on the platform. Let’s discover more news about Bybit.
Bybit Closes ETH Gap, New Proof-of-Reserves Report Coming Soon
Zhou wrote on X, “Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap; a new audited POR report will be published very soon to show that Bybit is again back to 100% 1:1 on client assets through Merkle tree. Stay tuned.”
Latest Update: Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap, new audited POR report will be published very soon to show that Bybit is again Back to 100% 1:1 on client assets through merkle tree, Stay tuned. https://t.co/QLa1vOujM6
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 24, 2025
Zhou’s tweet follows a report by Lookonchain that claimed the exchange had received 446,870 Ether from loans from competitors like Binance, HTX, and Bitget. Bybit reportedly purchased around $400 million worth of ETH from firms like FalconX and Wintermute through OTC transactions.
Bybit Moves to Recover Stolen Funds
Beyond recovering its ETH reserve, Bybit is working hard to recover the stolen funds. The exchange has launched a 10% bounty program to encourage ethical hackers and other players to help recover the funds.
Audited POR updated. pic.twitter.com/CB7wduvJHd
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 24, 2025
“Bybit launched a bounty program on February 22, encouraging ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts to assist in the recovery process. The exchange has pledged a reward of up to 10% of the recovered funds, potentially offering as much as $140 million if the full amount is reclaimed.” Zhou said
A coordinated effort led to the freezing of $42.89M in just one day. Thanks to the following teams for their swift action: @Tether_to: Flagged address and froze 181K USDT @THORChain: Blocked the blacklist @ChangeNOW_io: Froze 34 ETH @FixedFloat: Froze 120K USDC + USDT…
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 23, 2025
Bybit’s recovery efforts include collaborating with other platforms to freeze suspected stolen funds. The trading platform has successfully recovered over $40 million in collaboration with the likes of CoinEx, Circle, and Tether.
We’re close to 100% on our ETH reserves, and deposits & withdrawals are back to normal.
Through it all, the crypto community, our partners, and our users have shown unwavering support—thank you.
We know where our funds have gone, and we’re committed to turning this experience… pic.twitter.com/pJBpfVtVVH
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 24, 2025
Lazarus to Use Crypto Mixers
Blockchain security firm Elliptic recently shared insight into the laundering pattern used by the Lazarus group. Elliptic noted that the North Korea-backed group often deployed multiple measures in laundering its loot.
???? Elliptic Research: The Largest Theft in History – Following the Money Trail from the Bybit Hack ????
On Feb 21, 2025, $1.46 billion in crypto was stolen from Bybit, making it the largest crypto theft ever.
Elliptic has attributed the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group,… pic.twitter.com/pM6fOn6Bol
— Elliptic (@elliptic) February 24, 2025
Some of its popular tricks involve quickly exchanging coins into Bitcoin or Ethereum to avoid freezing. Furthermore, the group is said to scatter funds across multiple wallets to make it difficult to trail the stolen money. Finally, Elliptic predicts that Lazarus could likely resort to crypto mixers. These mixing services often make tracking stolen funds a difficult task.
Scammers are out there pretending to be Bybit employees. Stay sharp—Bybit will never ask for your personal info, deposits, or passwords.
Always double-check official sources and report anything suspicious. If something feels off, it probably is. Stay safe.
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 23, 2025
The $1.4 billion Bybit hack is the biggest crypto hack in history and one of the most notable tracks on a financial platform in modern memory. The situation has raised concerns about the poor security measures at most crypto platforms.
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Laine Byron