1.4 Billion ByBit Hack: Chaos In The Crypto World

ByBit, one of the most well-known exchanges in the crypto sector, has suffered a major cyber attack that has resulted in a loss of more than $1.4 billion. The hack has sparked a wave of speculation and concern in the community.

The attack, which occurred on Friday, saw funds transferred from the exchange's cold wallet to 49 different addresses. According to reports, a total of 514,000 ETH were transferred, with a total value of $1.429 billion.

Address 0x47666. Linked To The Hack

The address of the alleged hacker, identified as "0x47666..", has been traced and it appears that approximately $1 billion in tokens were moved from that address to new wallets.

Blockchain monitoring company EmberCN reported that the stolen funds were split across 49 addresses, with each wallet receiving 10,000 ETH. Currently, hackers are attempting to unlock 15,000 ETH in staking, an operation that takes about 8 hours before the funds become available.

The entire crypto sector is on high alert and no one yet knows the full details of the incident. However, Safe.eth, the provider of the multi-sig wallet that manages ByBit's Ethereum cold wallet, denies any breach.

The company said:

"Safe's security team is working with ByBit on an ongoing investigation. We have found no evidence that Safe's official interface has been compromised. However, as a precaution, Safe {Wallet} is temporarily suspending some functionality. User security is our priority, and we will provide updates shortly."

Safe.eth uses a smart contract-based wallet mechanism. If the interface has not been compromised, it means users must have signed transactions to enable the hack. If the attackers induced ByBit to sign a fraudulent contract, they could have modified the code to withdraw funds.

CZ's Intervention And ByBit's Statements

At the news broke, the former CEO of Binance, CZ, urged ByBit to suspend all withdrawals:

"This is not an easy situation to handle. It may be appropriate to temporarily suspend withdrawals as a standard security measure. We will offer assistance if necessary. Good luck."

ByBit CEO Ben Zhao, however, reassured users that the exchange is operating smoothly, with sufficient reserve funds and customer assets covered at a 1:1 ratio. Zhao also stated that ByBit will borrow funds, if necessary, to meet all requests.

The Price Of Pi Network Rockets After The Hack

There is no concrete evidence, but many in the crypto industry suspect that Pi Network users may be involved.

The Pi mainnet was launched on 20 February with the largest airdrop in cryptocurrency history. Although many platforms listed the token, ByBit remained reluctant, with Ben Zhao labelling Pi Network as a scam. This led to an unexpected reaction, with Pi's price rising by 10%.

In general, the entire crypto market is in turmoil. In a recent interview, Zhao explained the next steps after the attack. Withdrawals on the exchange are open, but due to the high traffic, some traders may experience problems using the services.