Hackers just pulled off what could be the largest crypto theft ever—£1.1 billion gone in a flash. The victim? Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai. Their Ethereum wallet was drained in what looks like a highly sophisticated attack.
Bybit’s founder, Ben Zhou, insists all user funds are “safe” and that the company will cover the losses. Whether that’s from their own reserves or a loan from partners, they claim there’s enough money in the vault—£15 billion worth of assets, to be exact. Still, a hit this big sends shockwaves through the already volatile crypto market.
Ethereum took an immediate hit, dropping 4% after the news broke. The stolen funds were transferred to an unidentified address—good luck getting them back. Bybit says they’re working with authorities and security experts to track down the culprits, but history isn’t on their side. Once crypto is stolen, it’s usually gone for good.
If the numbers hold, this would eclipse the previous record—$620M stolen from the Ronin Network in 2022. Crypto heists are nothing new, but the scale of this one is staggering. And it’s yet another reminder that even the biggest exchanges are vulnerable.
Bybit, founded in 2018, has grown into a major player in the crypto world, boasting over 60 million users worldwide. Some big names were reportedly early investors, including Peter Thiel and Donald Trump. Whatever their involvement, Bybit now has to clean up this mess and reassure customers their money isn’t next.
Speaking of Trump, his unexpected foray into cryptocurrency has stirred controversy. Despite admitting he “doesn’t know much” about crypto, he launched his own digital coin, TRUMP, which quickly skyrocketed in value—before crashing spectacularly. Investors learned the hard way that hype alone doesn’t make a stable currency.
Security concerns in crypto remain a major issue. Just ask Mt. Gox, the infamous exchange that collapsed in 2014 after losing $350M to hackers. Ten years later, the threats haven’t gone away—if anything, they’ve only gotten more sophisticated.
Bybit insists they’re solvent and will cover all customer assets, but trust in the crypto industry is a fragile thing. Every high-profile hack pushes mainstream adoption further away and gives regulators more ammunition to crack down. Whether Bybit recovers or not, this heist is another brutal reminder that in crypto, nothing is ever truly safe.
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Five Fast Facts
- Bybit is based in Dubai, a growing hub for cryptocurrency businesses thanks to its crypto-friendly regulations.
- The largest crypto theft before this was the 2018 Coincheck hack, where $534M was stolen.
- Ethereum, the cryptocurrency targeted in this heist, was founded by Vitalik Buterin in 2015.
- Peter Thiel, an early investor in Bybit, also co-founded PayPal and was Facebook’s first outside investor.
- Mt. Gox, the exchange that collapsed in 2014, once handled over 70% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide.
