Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit fell victim to a significant hack resulting in a $1.46 billion loss. The incident affected only its ETH cold wallet.
The Bybit Hack
The attack on Bybit occurred during a routine transfer of funds from a cold to a hot wallet. The ETH cold wallet was accessed by the exploiter through transaction manipulation. Prior to this, Bybit was targeted by an attack involving fake token entries into their cold wallet.
Consequences of the Hack
Bybit lost up to 8.64% of its assets from a total reserve of $16.2 billion. The exchange utilized Safe to verify the destination wallet, but human error may have resulted in signing a malicious contract. Other Bybit wallets were unaffected, with deposits and withdrawals remaining open.
Market Reaction
Following the attack, the market reacted with a downward trend: ETH dropped by 2.9%, and Bitcoin fell below $99,000. ZachXBT tracked the funds to five addresses on the Ethereum network.
The Bybit incident highlights the vulnerability of centralized crypto exchanges to sophisticated hacks. The exchange continues to operate, but security concerns remain prominent.
