Bybit Hack: Overnight Crypto Billionaire

The cryptocurrency world was left in shock following a major hack on the popular exchange Bybit, which resulted in the attacker becoming one of the largest holders of Ethereum (ETH). The hacker managed to surpass even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and investment giant Fidelity, securing the 14th spot on the global ETH holder rankings.

According to Coinbase director Conor Grogan, the Bybit hacker now holds roughly 0.42% of the total ETH supply, which is more than what Fidelity and Vitalik hold combined, and twice the amount held by the Ethereum Foundation. The hacker's ETH holdings are valued at approximately $1.37 billion, making them one of the wealthiest individuals in the crypto sphere overnight.

The hack, which occurred on Friday, involved the theft of one of Bybit's Ethereum cold wallets. An estimated $1.46 billion in assets were moved out of the wallet in a series of suspicious transactions. This incident is considered the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, surpassing the $611 million taken from Poly Network in 2021.

Research firm Nansen reported that the stolen funds consisted of more than $1 billion in Ether, with the remainder being ETH derivatives such as stETH, cmETH, and mETH. The tokens were initially moved to one wallet before being distributed to more than 40 others. The attacker, suspected to be the North Korean group Lazarus, converted all Ethereum derivatives to Ethereum before transferring the ETH in $27 million chunks to more than 10 additional wallets.

In response to the hack, Bybit has taken out bridge loans with partners to secure about 80% of the funds needed to replace the loss. The exchange has also stated that it will seek to recover the funds and take necessary legal action against the hackers. The crypto community awaits further developments in this unprecedented incident.