Bybit CEO Confirms Historic Withdrawals Amid $1.5B Hack, but Says “We Have Enough Tokens to Meet Client Demands”

Crypto exchange Bybit has witnessed a historic surge in withdrawal requests following a sophisticated security breach that resulted in the loss of over $1.46 billion in crypto assets.  According to CEO Ben Zhou, the exchange has processed over 350,000 withdrawal requests within the last 10 hours of the hack. This marked the highest transaction volume in its history.  Despite the overwhelming traffic, Zhou reassured users that Bybit has sufficient liquidity to meet withdrawal demands. At the time of writing, approximately 2,100 withdrawals remain pending, with 99.994% already completed. Zhou acknowledged that the team has been working around the clock to address concerns and process transactions. It urged users to remain patient as large withdrawals undergo risk confirmation procedures. How The Bybit Hack Happened Blockchain investigator ZachXBT first flagged suspicious outflows from Bybit, confirming that the exchange suffered a major security incident. The attack involved a sophisticated manipulation of Bybit’s Ethereum multi-signature cold wallet.  Hackers exploited a masked signing interface, tricking Bybit’s team into approving a transaction that modified the smart contract logic. This action allowed the attackers to control the wallet and transfer its ETH holdings to an unidentified address. Meanwhile, Bybit assured users that all other cold wallets remain secure and that client funds are not at risk. The exchange emphasized that all withdrawal operations are functioning normally despite the high traffic. Bybit Secures Emergency Liquidity Through Partner Loans Instead of immediately repurchasing ETH from the market, Bybit has opted to secure bridge loans from its partners to maintain liquidity. Zhou stated that all users will be able to withdraw their funds. However, processing times may be longer than usual due to the sheer volume of requests. On-chain data from Conor Grogan shows that Bitget and Binance have collectively deposited over 50,000 Ethereum into Bybit’s cold wallets. Notably, Bitget’s contribution accounts for a quarter of the total ETH reserves on the platform.  In a tweet, Bitget CEO Gracy reassured the market that the loss amounts to only Bybit’s annual profit of $1.5 billion, emphasizing that customer funds remain fully protected. She also clarified that the assets lent to Bybit were Bitget’s own funds and not those of its users. https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1893092037769191611 North Korea’s Lazarus Group Linked to the Attack Meanwhile, on-chain forensic analysis by ZachXBT and Arkham Intelligence suggests that the hack was orchestrated by the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.  Evidence includes test transactions, wallet addresses, forensic charts, and detailed timeline analysis, all of which have been shared with Bybit to aid the investigation.  Ethereum Rollback Debate Resurfaces Following the attack, Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, floated the idea of an Ethereum rollback. This is a controversial proposal to reverse the blockchain to recover stolen funds. Hayes expressed willingness to support a rollback if the community decides to take action. https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1893055659001749537 Furthermore, Conor Grogan called the Bybit hack “the largest theft in human history.” Moreover, he suggested the incident could reignite debates on Ethereum’s governance and security measures.