Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit has confirmed it was the victim of the largest known theft in the history of cryptocurrency, with over $1.46 billion worth of Ethereum stolen.
Ben Zhou, CEO and co-founder of Bybit, publicly acknowledged the breach on X (formerly Twitter) late on Friday, confirming that 401,000 Ethereum coins were taken in the attack. The stolen cryptocurrency was worth around $1.46 billion at the time of the theft.
According to Bybit, the breach occurred when the company was in the process of transferring funds from a "cold wallet," a crypto wallet that stores private keys offline for added security, to a "hot wallet" for operational purposes. During the transfer, the platform's security was compromised through a highly sophisticated cyberattack. The attackers managed to mask the wallet's signature interface, making it appear as though the transfer was legitimate, while altering the underlying smart contract logic.
As a result, the hacker gained unauthorized access to the cold wallet and moved the Ethereum to an unidentified address, effectively seizing control of the funds.
Bybit has assured its customers that other cold wallets are unaffected. However, over the weekend the company warned that following the breach scammers have started to impersonate Bybit employees for nefarious purposes.
“Scammers are out there pretending to be Bybit employees. Stay sharp—Bybit will never ask for your personal info, deposits, or passwords. Always double-check official sources and report anything suspicious. If something feels off, it probably is. Stay safe,” the crypto platform wrote.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by North Korean state-sponsored threat actor Lazarus Group, known for some of the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. Previously, the largest breaches involved the Ronin Network and Poly Network, which saw losses of $624 million and $611 million, respectively.