Bybit Hit with Over 350K Withdrawal Requests After $1.5B Breach

Highlights:

• Bybit experienced a marked surge in withdrawal requests following the $1.5 billion security compromise.
• The exchange’s co-founder revealed that the trading outlet has completed all withdrawal requests.
• Zhou assured users of Bybit’s team’s swift responses to address all their concerns.

Yesterday, Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit suffered one of the most devastating security compromises, resulting in about $1.5 billion loss. The unfortunate event has caused uproars within the crypto community, especially from those who have valuables stored in the hacked exchange.

Part of the response from the exchange users includes triggering over 350K withdrawal requests, which Ben Zhou, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bybit, described as unprecedented. “Since the hack (10 hrs ago), Bybit has experienced the greatest number of withdraws that we have ever seen. We have had more than 350k withdrawal requests, so far, around 2100 withdraw requests left to be processed,” the CEO stated in a tweet.

Still, in the same tweet, Zhou said the exchange had completed 99.994% of the withdrawal requests. Going further, he noted that despite the huge loss, the trading platform will remain accessible for users to perform any operation. He also assured customers of Bybit’s team’s swift responses to address users’ concerns and ensure the exchange does not keep anyone stranded.

Since the hack (10 hrs ago) , Bybit has experienced the most number of withdraws that we have ever seen, We have had a total number of more than 350k withdraws requests, so far, around 2100 withdraw requests left to be processed. Overall 99. 994% withdraws have been completed. If…

— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 22, 2025

A few hours after the tweet above, Zhou shared another post, revealing that the exchange had completed all withdrawal requests. He appreciated customers’ patience, adding that Bybit will release a detailed report of the events that transpired over the past few hours. The CEO also promised to keep customers updated about current situations.

12 hr from the worst hack in history. ALL withdraws have been processed. Our withdraw system is now fully back to normal pace, you can withdraw any amount and experience no delays. Thanks for your patience and we are sorry that this has happened.
Bybit will come out with full…

— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 22, 2025

Brief Overview of How Bybit Over 350K Withdrawal Requests Came About

According to reputable sources, yesterday’s cyber hack on Bybit was highly sophisticated to tamper with the wallet’s smart contract capability, enabling the perpetrators to elicit private transfers. Describing the unfortunate incident, Zhou noted that the hackers employed a fake transaction interface, “musked.”

The deceptive interface contains accurate details of the wallet ID and URL. This deceived the Bybit team, leading them to sign a transaction that changed the smart contract within the exchange’s cold wallet. With that, the malicious actors accessed the wallet and eventually emptied its Ethereum balance.

The stolen valuables include ETH, stETH, and mETH, which the attackers spread across several wallets. On-chain crypto scam investigation outlet ZachXBT noted that the hackers swapped a significant portion of the stolen assets through Uniswap and KyberSwap.

Hack Incidence Linked to the Lazarus Group

While investigations are ongoing, Arkham, a crypto market analytical intelligence outlet, has revealed that the Lazarus Group is the mastermind behind the hacking incident. For context, the Lazarus Group is a notorious hacking organization whose origin was traced to North Korea.

In the tweet, relaying its findings following due diligence investigations, Arkham mentioned that all proofs presented by ZachXBT indicated that the Lazarus Group orchestrated the sophisticated scam. Describing ZachXBT’s submissions, Arkham stated, “His submission included a detailed analysis of test transactions and connected wallets used ahead of the exploit, as well as multiple forensics graphs and timing analyses.”

BREAKING: BYBIT $1 BILLION HACK BOUNTY SOLVED BY ZACHXBT

At 19:09 UTC today, @zachxbt submitted definitive proof that this attack on Bybit was performed by the LAZARUS GROUP.

His submission included a detailed analysis of test transactions and connected wallets used ahead of… https://t.co/O43qD2CM2U pic.twitter.com/jtQPtXl0C5

— Arkham (@arkham) February 21, 2025

Exchanges Show Massive Support for Bybit

In other related news, Spotonchain reported that other exchanges have backed Bybit with monetary support. Per the on-chain transaction tracker, the hacked exchange has received $172.5 million in loans to help offset customers’ withdrawal requests. Bitget contributed the most by donating 40,000 ETH, worth $107 million.

Aside from Bitget, other exchanges that supported Bybit include MEXC and Binance. MEXC donated 12,652 Staked Ethereum (STETH), valued at about $33.9 million. Binance contributed 11,800 Ethereum tokens worth $31.6 million. It is left to see if other exchanges would join the trend.

Bybit (@Bybit_Official) has received $172.5M in loans from various exchanges/institutions to manage customer withdrawals in the past 7 hours, including:

• 40,000 $ETH ($107M) from Bitget (@bitgetglobal)

• 12,652 $stETH ($33.9M) from a #MEXC’s hot wallet

• 11,800 $ETH… https://t.co/fSi4WXyMsz pic.twitter.com/0VSHcJLc4Y

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) February 22, 2025