DUBAI: In what’s being called the biggest digital heist in history, hackers have stolen $1.5bn (£1.2bn) from the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. The Dubai-based platform confirmed the theft, which saw an attacker gain control of a wallet holding Ethereum, one of the most popular digital currencies after Bitcoin. The stolen funds were then transferred to an unknown address.
Bybit has since appealed to the “brightest minds” in cybersecurity to help recover the funds. The company reassured customers that their holdings were safe and stated that it would refund anyone affected, even if the stolen cryptocurrency wasn’t recovered. In a statement on social media, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured users, “Bybit is solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered. All client assets are 1-to-1 backed, and we can cover the loss.”
The attack occurred during a routine transfer of Ethereum from the company’s offline “cold” wallet to a “warm” wallet for daily trading. Exploiting security weaknesses, the hacker made off with the funds. Zhou also confirmed that all other wallets on the platform were unaffected.
Following the hackers digital heist, Bybit saw a spike in withdrawal requests, with over 350,000 users seeking to move their assets. This led to some delays in processing, although the platform remains confident in its ability to cover any unrecovered funds through its assets or loans from partners.
In a bid to recover the stolen Ethereum, Bybit has offered a 10% reward on any funds recovered from the hackers digital heist, which could amount to a whopping $140m if all the stolen assets are retrieved. The incident marks a major setback for the crypto industry, which has been on a rebound following recent policy shifts in the US.
