Bybit's $700M Ethereum Recovery: A Crypto Industry Showcase

Bybit Exchange Secures 254,830 ETH Through OTC Deals After $1.4B Hack

In a swift response to a significant security breach, Bybit Exchange has successfully recovered nearly $700 million worth of Ethereum within 48 hours. The exchange secured 254,830 ETH through a combination of over-the-counter (OTC) deals and institutional loans, demonstrating the crypto industry's ability to respond rapidly to security incidents.

The recovery effort began immediately after hackers exploited Bybit's multisig cold wallet using a masked URL trick to manipulate contract logic, resulting in the theft of over 401,000 ETH, valued at approximately $1.4 billion. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, Bybit purchased 266,700 ETH worth $742 million across two days to address the shortage.

The exchange's recovery strategy involved multiple channels. Data from SpotOnChain reveals that 132,178 ETH, worth $367 million, was obtained through OTC deals with major crypto firms. These transactions were initiated through a wallet identified as "0x2E45…1b77," which made its first transaction on February 22 at 4:44 PM UTC.

Additional funds came through institutional loans, with Bybit securing 122,652 ETH (valued at $326 million) from various exchanges and institutions. These lenders included Bitget, MEXC, Binance, and DWF Labs, showing broad industry support for the recovery effort.

A second wallet, "0xd7CF…A995," participated in a $304 million Ethereum purchase conducted through both centralized and decentralized exchanges. While not officially confirmed as belonging to Bybit, blockchain intelligence firms Lookonchain and Arkham Intelligence have identified transaction patterns linking the wallet to the exchange.

Ben Zhou, CEO and co-founder of Bybit, confirmed the exchange's return to normal operations. "Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap," Zhou stated, announcing that a new audited Proof of Reserves report would soon demonstrate the exchange's restoration of 100% 1:1 client asset backing through merkle tree verification.

The hacker responsible for the