Bybit Repays $104M ETH Loan in Days After $1.4B Hack

Crypto exchange Bybit swiftly repaid a 40,000 Ether (ETH) loan worth approximately $104 million to Bitget within three days following a $1.4 billion hack on February 21. The hack, allegedly orchestrated by North Korea's Lazarus Group, was one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks in history. Despite the significant disruption, Bybit managed to maintain operations and restore its reserves.

As part of its recovery effort, Bybit borrowed the 40,000 ETH from Bitget to facilitate customer withdrawals. On February 25, on-chain data confirmed that Bybit had fully repaid the loan, which was extended without interest or collateral. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen verified the repayment, stating that the loan was provided to support a peer in need and that they never doubted Bybit's ability to repay.

Bybit's efforts to restore its reserves were substantial. The exchange received around 446,870 ETH, worth approximately $1.23 billion, through a combination of loans, whale deposits, and asset purchases. This accounted for nearly 88% of the stolen funds. Bybit borrowed to ensure that customers could withdraw funds at their convenience, as investors withdrew more than $5 billion on February 22 amidst uncertainties. Proof-of-reserve auditor Hacken confirmed that the crypto platform's reserves still exceed its liabilities, and user funds remain fully backed.

The Bybit hack has been linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group by crypto investigator ZachXBT, who earned a 50,000 Arkham (ARKM) tokens bounty for his findings. Further analysis suggests potential connections between the Bybit attack and past hacks on BingX and Phemex. Security analysts suspect that the stolen funds may be funneled through cryptocurrency mixing services to obscure transaction trails, a tactic commonly used by the Lazarus Group.