On 21 February 2025, hackers stole approximately $1.5bn in digital assets from Bybit’s Ethereum wallet.
The Dubai-based cryptocurrency platform Bybit has called it the “biggest cryptocurrency heist ever recorded”.
Bybit was founded in 2018 and has more than 60 million users worldwide. It offers access to various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum.
Ethereum is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market value after Bitcoin. An Ethereum wallet is a software or hardware interface that allows users to store and manage their Ethereum-based tokens securely.
However, a hacker managed to gain control of an Ethereum wallet and transfer the contents to an unknown address.
According to Bybit, the hack occurred when the company was making a routine transfer of Ethereum from an offline “cold” wallet to a “warm” wallet, which covers its daily trading. An attacker exploited security controls during this process.
As soon as the incident was detected, Bybit’s security team locked down systems and secured...