One of the most significant events impacting the cryptocurrency market was the unprecedented hack of Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange. On February 21, North Korean hackers executed the largest crypto heist ever, stealing $1.5 billion from Bybit. This breach exploited a vulnerability in Safe{Wallet}, Bybit’s security firm, leading to a massive crisis as the hack wiped out 7.5% of its assets and triggered a flurry of withdrawal requests. Bybit’s CEO,
Ben Zhou, activated a crisis plan, receiving critical loans from other crypto firms like Bitget, which lent $100 million, and Antalpha. These swift actions helped Bybit meet the $280 million in withdrawal requests. Despite stabilizing, the hack damaged Bybit’s reputation, causing its market share to drop from 12% to 8%, though its client assets recovered to $14 billion three days later. This incident underscored the ongoing vulnerabilities in the crypto industry and the need for stringent operational security.