In the wake of a staggering $1.5 billion hack, Bybit faced an unprecedented surge of withdrawal requests that would make any crypto exchange sweat. Over 350,000 panicked users rushed to yank their funds within just 10 hours, totaling a jaw-dropping $5.3 billion. Talk about a stress test for the exchange’s infrastructure.
When panic strikes crypto, the numbers get wild: 350,000 users frantically pulling $5.3 billion in just 10 hours.
The numbers tell a wild story. Bybit’s team, probably fueled by endless cups of coffee, managed to process 99.99% of these requests. Only 2,100 stragglers remained pending. The team showed incredible dedication as they stayed awake all night handling the crisis. Not bad for what could have been a complete meltdown.
CEO Ben Zhou took to X (formerly Twitter) to keep everyone in the loop, even hosting a live stream to calm the crypto masses. The rapid response helped maintain market depth and prevent excessive price volatility.
The exchange didn’t just weather this storm alone. Bitget stepped up with a cool 40,000 ETH loan (worth about $106 million) to help cover withdrawals. Crypto.com also offered support, while Hacken confirmed Bybit’s reserves still exceeded liabilities. Sometimes it pays to have friends in the crypto world.
The market felt the tremors. Ethereum’s price took a 4% nosedive in just 45 minutes, and other tokens followed suit. After all, this wasn’t just any hack – it was the largest crypto theft in history. Security experts have traced the massive heist to the North Korean Lazarus group.
But Bybit kept its cool, maintaining normal operations and implementing enhanced security measures, including 24-hour withdrawal restrictions and stricter KYC limits.
The crypto community responded with a coordinated effort to prevent the thieves from cashing out. Bitget blacklisted the hacker’s wallets, while Elliptic labeled the addresses as toxic. The incident sparked renewed discussions about exchange security across the industry.
Despite the chaos, Bybit managed to return to normal operations within 12 hours. No withdrawal suspensions were needed, and users can now move their funds without restrictions.
It’s a reminder that in crypto, sometimes you have to roll with the punches – and boy, were there plenty of them this time around.
