Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed the exchange has replenished the $1.4 billion in stolen Ether, with an audited proof-of-reserve report set for release soon
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has fully replaced the Ether lost in last week’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The company’s CEO, Ben Zhou, confirmed the fix in an X post earlier today, stating that “Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap”.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that Bybit received approximately 446,870 ETH—worth around $1.23 billion—from loans, whale deposits, and purchases between February 22 and 23.
This recovery effort by Bybit covers nearly 88% of the funds stolen in the attack, which was attributed to North Korean hackers, the Lazarus Group.
Lookonchain’s analysis also revealed that a Bybit-linked wallet address acquired 157,660 ETH (worth $437.8 million) through over-the-counter transactions with firms like Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and Wintermute.
An additional $304 million in Ether was purchased using another wallet address, which interacted with Binance and MEXC hot wallets, according to Arkham Intelligence.
This is not the first major hack linked to the Lazarus Group, which has been responsible for multiple high-profile crypto thefts, including the $600 million Ronin Network hack in 2022, the $230 million WazirX attack, and the $305 million DMM Bitcoin breach.
In total, North Korean hackers stole over $1.34 billion in 2024 alone, a 102% increase from the previous year, according to Chainalysis.
Onchain investigator ZachXBT also found that the Lazarus Group wallets used in the Bybit hack were linked to the $29 million Phemex hack in January.
“Lazarus Group just connected the Bybit hack to the Phemex hack directly on-chain commingling funds from the initial theft address for both incidents,” he wrote in an X post on February 22.
Despite the unprecedented scale of the attack, Bybit processed over 350,000 withdrawal requests in just 10 hours, totaling more than $5.3 billion.
However, Bybit’s independent proof-of-reserve (PoR) auditor, Hacken, confirmed on February 21 on X that the exchange’s reserves still exceed its liabilities, ensuring full user fund backing. According to DefiLlama data, Bybit’s total assets currently amount to $10.9 billion.
While Bybit’s rapid response may demonstrate resilience, questions remain about whether it will restore investor confidence in centralized exchanges and whether crypto is a good investment in 2025.
The incident underscores the ongoing risks of centralized asset custody and whether crypto wallets are secure, prompting renewed debates over security, transparency, and decentralized finance alternatives.
