Bybit promptly settled a 40,000 ETH loan from Bitget, ensuring uninterrupted withdrawals following a $1.4 billion hack, which has been linked to the Lazarus Group.
Crypto exchange Bybit swiftly repaid a 40,000 Ether loan from Bitget within three days, following a $1.4 billion hack that struck the platform on February 21.
The hack, which occurred on February 21, is considered one of the largest in cryptocurrency history and is believed to have been executed by North Korea's Lazarus Group. Despite the breach, Bybit managed to recover the stolen assets and continued to operate without significant interruptions.
To support its recovery efforts, Bybit secured a loan of 40,000 Ether, valued at approximately $104 million, from Bitget to ensure smooth customer withdrawals, as reported by Lookonchain on February 22.
Source: Ben Zhou
Restoring investor confidence through loan repayment
On February 25, on-chain data confirmed that Bybit had repaid the full 40,000 ETH loan to Bitget. This repayment was later confirmed by Bitget's CEO, Gracy Chen, who highlighted that the loan was provided with no interest or collateral:
“No interest, no collateral this was simply about supporting a peer in need. It's great to see Bybit fully recovered, and we never had any doubts about the loan being returned.”
Related: Bybit’s stolen funds likely to be routed through crypto mixers, says Elliptic
Bybit made significant efforts to restore its reserves, receiving approximately 446,870 ETH, valued at around $1.23 billion, through loans, whale deposits, and asset purchases, according to Lookonchain. This replenished nearly 88% of the $1.4 billion stolen during the hack.
Bybit took out the loan to ensure customer withdrawals could proceed smoothly. In the midst of the crisis, investors withdrew over $5 billion on February 22.
Proof-of-reserve auditor Hacken confirmed that Bybit’s reserves still exceeded its liabilities and that user funds remained fully backed.
Data from CoinGecko showed that ETH dropped by more than 7% within seven hours after the hack, falling from $2,831 to $2,629, and was trading at $2,473 at the time of writing.
Tracking down the largest hack in crypto history
Crypto investigator ZachXBT connected the Bybit hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group, earning a 50,000 Arkham tokens reward for his findings. Further analysis pointed to potential links between the Bybit breach and previous hacks involving BingX and Phemex.
While investigations are ongoing, security experts suspect that the stolen funds could be laundered through cryptocurrency mixing services, a tactic frequently employed by the Lazarus Group to hide transaction trails.
