Bybit has announced that a sophisticated attack manipulated an Ethereum cold wallet transaction, resulting in significant losses. The company is currently investigating the incident. The announcement was made on X on February 21.
According to blockchain trackers on X, the hack involved the theft of 401,347 ETH—worth over $1.46 billion—surpassing the $620 million Ronin Network breach of 2022. The attacker reportedly swapped assets like mETH and stETH for ETH via decentralized platforms, with funds traced to addresses flagged by ZachXBT.
Crypto exchanges faced 47 major hacks in 2024, losing $2.8 billion, according to Chainalysis estimates. Centralized platforms like Bybit are increasingly targeted as tactics shift from code exploits to social engineering, including user interface manipulation, as seen in this breach.