BBC Business reporter
Getty Images
The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced that hackers have made off with $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) in digital assets, potentially marking the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.
The founder of the Dubai-based company reassured users that their assets remain “safe” and promised to reimburse those impacted.
The breach involved theft from the firm’s Ethereum wallet, with Ethereum being the second most significant cryptocurrency by market capitalization, following Bitcoin.
Ben Zhou, the founder of Bybit, suggested that the loss could be offset by the company’s resources or through loans from investors, highlighting that Bybit has $20 billion (£15 billion) in assets.
Bybit reported that the hackers took advantage of security vulnerabilities and transferred the stolen funds to an undisclosed wallet address.
Following the incident, the price of Ethereum dropped by approximately 4% on Friday, bringing its value down to $2,641.41 (£2,090) per coin.
This theft surpasses the previous record for a crypto heist, which was a $620 million (£490 million) theft of Ethereum and USD Coin from the Ronin Network in 2022.
Founded in 2018, Bybit attracted early investments from notable figures including former US President Donald Trump and ex-Paypal CEO Peter Thiel.
Bybit claims to have a user base exceeding 60 million globally and facilitates access to various cryptocurrencies.
“We are solvent even if this hack results in unrecoverable losses; all customer assets are fully backed one-to-one, and we can absorb the loss,” Mr. Zhou emphasized.
The company stated in a post on X that it has alerted the proper authorities and is expediting efforts to track down the perpetrators.
Cryptocurrencies have garnered significant interest from investors but also face criticism for being driven by speculation, which can lead to price manipulation.
Recently, Donald Trump faced backlash for introducing his own digital currency while revealing a lack of knowledge about cryptocurrencies.
The digital coin named TRUMP appeared on his social media prior to his inauguration and rapidly rose in value but has since experienced a significant decline.
This incident raises ongoing security concerns within the digital currency space, which was seeking to regain trust following the launch of Mr. Trump’s coin. His advisor, billionaire Elon Musk, has also previously endorsed Bitcoin.
In 2014, the crypto exchange Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy after hackers absconded with $350 million (£210 million) due to security loopholes.
In 2019, another major breach resulted in the theft of $41 million worth of Bitcoin from the Binance exchange.
