The Ethereum (ETH) reserves of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit have been successfully restored. Its comeback from one of the biggest heists in cryptocurrency history reached a major turning point with this.
On February 24, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou made the news, which comes days after the exchange was hacked for $1.5 billion, reportedly by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Bybit restores ETH holdings
Bybit’s multisig cold wallet mechanism was the focus of the hack. The hackers stole 401,346 ETH, or around $1.13 billion, from the exchange’s hot wallet by taking advantage of a flaw.
Bybit’s total reserves fell by $5.2 billion in the 24 hours following the hack, raising questions about the platform’s stability. The exchange swiftly obtained emergency funds to strengthen its reserves in spite of the loss. On-chain statistics further verified that Bybit withdrawals and deposits quickly recovered to their pre-hack levels.
Zhou has now verified that Bybit has fully backed up its ETH reserves to 1:1 with customer assets.
Latest Update: Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap, new audited POR report will be published very soon to show that Bybit is again Back to 100% 1:1 on client assets through merkle tree, Stay tuned. https://t.co/QLa1vOujM6
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 24, 2025
He also mentioned the impending release of an audited Proof-of-Reserves (POR) report. A Merkle tree structure will be used in the upcoming POR report to transparently demonstrate that Bybit has 100% reserve backing for customer assets.
Bybit obtained over 446,870 ETH ($1.23 billion) from loans, whale deposits, and direct ETH purchases, according to Lookonchain statistics.
Purchases from controlled and decentralized exchanges contributed an additional 109,033 ETH, while potential over-the-counter (OTC) transactions contributed 180,269 ETH. 47,800 ETH came from loans from unnamed whales or organizations and transfers from two anonymous sources, one of which sent 20,000 ETH and the other of whom moved 8,000 stETH.
A number of industry participants also intervened to aid Bybit’s recuperation. MEXC loaned 12,653 stETH, while Bitget lent 40,000 ETH. Additionally, DWF Labs gave 2,200 ETH.
Mirana Ventures contributed an additional 10,000 ETH, and Fenbushi Capital may have contributed as well. Additionally, 4,416 ETH were taken out of other controlled exchanges and sent to Bybit. Finally, the total inflows were increased by 2,499 ETH from a single entity.
According to Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise, Bybit’s quick comeback stands in stark contrast to FTX’s 2022 crash.
“Bybit succeeded where FTX didn’t because the crypto cooperative is stronger for decentralized regulatory capture than the centralized regulatory capture,” Park stated
Park contends that this structural advantage is a core strength of the cryptocurrency ecosystem rather than a weakness.
The reason is simple: the borderless crypto cooperative is retail, and non-Americans account for 95.8% of the world population.
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) February 24, 2025
Bybit has started a bounty program and is giving up to 10% of any recovered assets as a reward in addition to its reserve restoration. If the entire $1.13 billion is recovered, the total earnings for all players might reach $140 million.
In the meanwhile, Ethereum’s market price has had difficulty recovering despite the exchange’s prompt action. The hack caused ETH’s value to drop right away.
The price has since dropped once more, despite a temporary rebound. When this article was written, ETH was trading at $2,731, down 2.0% from the previous day.
Infini hack: Attacker drains $49.5M in USDC
Infini, a stablecoin bank, experiences a hack that costs them $49.5 million in USDC. This is what the assailant did after that.
Neobank Infini, a stablecoin, suffered a serious blow on Monday after being hacked. 49.5 million USDC was taken off of the platform, according to different on-chain monitoring. The attacker’s on-chain actions have since caused market players all around the world to take notice.
Infini hack: Attacker steals $49.5M sparking speculations
Infini was hacked, and the attacker took 49.5 million USDC from the stablecoin bank, according to Lookonchain’s X post dated February 24. The attacker then exchanged 49.5 million DAI, a stablecoin based on Ethereum, for all of the stolen money.
The hacker then proceeded to buy 17,696 ETH from the DAI that was traded. After then, the ETH tokens were moved to the new wallet address “0xfcc8…6e49.” The entire story attracted a lot of market interest, and on-chain trackers continue to keep a close eye on the address.
How did the Infini hack happen?
In an X post, tracker PeckShieldAlert also disclosed that a community member had identified questionable transactions in which stolen money had been moved to a wallet connected to TornadoCash. Clearing the air, the tracker explained, “Private key 0xc49b…e3e1 appears to have been leaked.”
The engineer in question has been identified, and a police report has been submitted, according to an intriguing revelation made by PeckShieldAlert in another X post. Market observers are wary because the attacker may sell Ethereum, which would raise its price. More information on the Infini breach is still eagerly sought.
Since the incident, withdrawal requests on the platform have increased to 500,000 USD, according to the stablecoin bank, and all of them have been completed in full. This action provided relief in spite of the previous attack and demonstrated the platform’s unwavering pro-user stance.
ETH: Hackers’ new favourite?
At the same time, it’s important to note that ETH has drawn a lot of attention due to an increase in hacks in the industry as a whole. In addition to the Infini breach, the Lazarus Group attacked the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.
Hackers notably took $1.4 billion worth of “ETH” off the network. This story once more demonstrated how dangerous the cryptocurrency industry is, since Ethereum is the token of choice for hackers looking to pay out stolen money.
As Bybit works with other parties in the wake of the attack, it is notable that $43 million of the stolen assets have been frozen. Investor anxiety is heightened by the latest stablecoin bank hack, which emphasizes how dangerous the market is.
Hong Kong investment firm’s board gives nod to more Bitcoin buying
After purchasing its first Bitcoin a week ago, HK Asia Holdings Limited’s shares almost doubled, and the investment firm just purchased an additional seven BTC.
Only a week after purchasing its first Bitcoin, the investment business saw its share values treble. Now, HK Asia Holdings Limited has roughly nine Bitcoins.
In a February 23 release, Hong Kong-based investment firm HK Asia stated that its board “has approved the Company to further increase its investment in Bitcoin.” The company also disclosed that it had paid about $761,705 for approximately 7.88 Bitcoin (BTC) on February 20.
It also stated that it used internal funds to finance its most recent purchase, which increased its total Bitcoin holdings to around 8.88 BTC. The purchase was made at an average price of $97,021 per coin, or about $861,500 in total.
On February 16, HK Asia announced that it had bought one bitcoin. When markets reopened the following day, investors flocked to buy the shares, increasing its value by about ninety-three percent by the end of trading on February 17.
As of the lunch break on February 24, shares of HK Asia were up around 5.7% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, trading at about 6.66 Hong Kong dollars (86 cents), according to Google Finance.
With its share price up 1,700% so far this year, HK Asia’s stock might close above its all-time high of 6.50 Hong Kong dollars (84 cents) in June 2019 if its present price maintains.
The current trend of publicly listed companies purchasing Bitcoin in an effort to increase business profits is followed by HK Asia’s entry into the market.
HK Asia stated earlier this month that the “increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the commercial world” was one of the factors that led its board to make its first Bitcoin acquisition.
In its most recent statement, the business stated that although it made the notification “on a voluntary basis,” its Bitcoin purchases fall below the legal level for it to be required to disclose that it has purchased the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin is presently down less than 1% to $95,537 after trading flat over the last day. According to CoinGecko, it is down 12% from its peak of $108,786 on January 20 and has been trading below the psychologically significant $100,000 threshold since February 5.
