Arkham Intelligence recently announced that on-chain security expert ZachXBT has identified North Korean hacker group Lazarus as the culprit behind the attack on the Bybit exchange on February 21, causing losses of up to $1.46 billion.

To aid in the investigation, Arkham has offered a reward of 50,000 ARKM (worth approximately $31,500) for anyone who provides information identifying the individual or organization responsible for the attack.

The biggest hack in cryptocurrency history

The attack on Bybit cost the exchange $1.46 billion, including a large amount of staked Ether (ETH) and several other ERC-20 tokens. ZachXBT discovered the incident shortly after it happened and reported it to Arkham, which “identified the organization behind the attack using on-chain data.”

According to on-chain security platform Blockaid, this is the largest cryptocurrency exchange hack ever. Given the severity of the incident, information about the incident quickly spread throughout the cryptocurrency community, attracting mixed reactions, from support from industry organizations, calls to avoid spreading negative rumors (FUD), to security warnings for users.

Support from the crypto community

Following the attack, many organizations and individuals in the industry have spoken out in support of Bybit. Tron founder Justin Sun said on X that his ecosystem is helping to trace the stolen funds.

OKX exchange has also deployed a security team to assist Bybit during the investigation, according to marketing director Haider Rafique.

Meanwhile, KuCoin exchange posted a message expressing support for Bybit, CEO Ben Zhou and their team, noting that:

“Cryptocurrency is a shared responsibility. We believe that cooperation between exchanges is a key element in the fight against cybercrime and raising security standards across the industry.”

Call to avoid spreading FUD

Amid concerns about the impact of the hack, some industry figures have called on the community to avoid spreading unsubstantiated negative information.

Conor Grogan, CEO of Coinbase, commented on X:

“Bybit is still processing withdrawals as usual. They have over $20 billion in assets on the platform, and their cold wallets are not affected. Given the isolated nature of the hack and Bybit’s strong financial position, I don’t think there will be a contagion effect.”

Grogan also compared the incident to the FTX collapse:

“When FTX crashed, it was a minute before everyone realized they didn’t have enough liquidity to process withdrawals. I know a lot of people are still emotionally affected by that, but Bybit is not FTX. If they were, I would have warned them right away. They’ll be fine.”

Aave founder Stani Kulechov also commented:

“Bybit may take some losses, but they will most likely make up for it with revenue. I believe they will get through this incident without any major problems.”

After the hack, many experts in the community shared security measures to help users protect their assets.

Yuga Labs’ blockchain vice president, nicknamed “Quit,” posted a number of recommendations on X, including:

  • Use multisig wallet to store assets.

  • Use a hardware wallet as a transaction signing device.

  • Double check the transaction data displayed on the hardware wallet versus the software wallet.

  • Run a transaction simulation on Tenderly before confirming.

“Blockchain is immutable, so security measures need to be taken before a transaction is confirmed. Once a transaction appears on the blockchain, it is too late.”

In addition, KuCoin also emphasizes the importance of enabling two-factor authentication (2FA), using strong and unique passwords, and adopting modern security methods such as passkeys to protect users' accounts.

Bybit borrow money from Binance and Bitget

Binance and Bitget recently deposited more than 50,000 ETH ($133 million) into Bybit's cold wallet. Notably, the ETH deposited by Bitget represents about a quarter of the total ETH held by Bybit. Since these transactions did not go through the usual deposit address, it suggests that the funds were coordinated directly by Bybit.

According to Bitget CEO Gracy, on X, although the loss is huge, this figure is only equivalent to Bybit's annual profit ($1.5 billion). She asserted that customer funds are still 100% safe and there is no reason to panic. In addition, Gracy also emphasized that the assets lent to Bybit are Bitget's assets, not users' assets.

Source: https://tapchibitcoin.io/zachxbt-xac-dinh-nhom-lazarus-dung-sau-vu-hack-bybit-tri-gia-14-ty-usd.html