Company:Bybit

From HandWiki

Bybit Fintech Limited, known as Bybit, is a Dubai based centralized cryptocurrency exchange. The platform has faced regulatory warnings in several jurisdictions.[1][2][3]

In February 2025, the exchange was hacked resulting in the loss of $1.5 billion in assets, marking the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.[4][5][6][7]

History

Bybit was founded in 2018 by Singaporean entrepreneur Ben Zhou, who currently serves as CEO. In 2022, the company relocated its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[8][7][9]

In November 2023, the FTX bankruptcy estate sued Bybit for nearly $1 billion.[10] It alleged that Bybit's investment arm Mirana prioritized withdrawals from FTX in November 2022 amid concerns about its solvency and withdrew nearly $500 million before withdrawals stopped.[10] The suit claimed that Bybit used FTX assets to expedite withdrawals, blocked FTX from reclaiming $125 million, and devalued tokens worth tens of millions through BitDAO.[10] FTX also contended that a token swap with Alameda Research in October 2021 was reversed in May 2023, when BitDAO restructured tokens, limiting redemption rights.[10] In October 2024, Bybit settled its FTX case by paying $228 million.[11]

2025 hack

On February 21, 2025, Bybit announced on X that it had been hacked.[4] According to Bybit, about 400,000 Ethereum was stolen,[12][13] which had an approximate notional value of $1.4 billion, making it the largest cryptocurrency exchange hack to date.[4] The firm reported that it was able to replenish its reserves within 72 hours by securing 447,000 ether tokens through emergency funding efforts.[14] The liquidity was provided by firms including Galaxy Digital, FalconX and Wintermute.[14] To aid Bybit customer withdrawals, a whale or institutional entity transferred 40,000 ETH from Binance, Bitget and MEXC.[15]

The attacker exploited vulnerabilities in Bybit's multi-signature wallet system, facilitated by compromised infrastructure at Safe{Wallet}, a third-party provider.[16]

Blockchain analytics firms Arkham Intelligence and Elliptic claimed they were able to trace the hack to Lazarus Group, an advanced persistent threat tied to North Korea.[13][17] The US Federal Bureau of Investigation also attributed the hack to North Korea, blaming "TraderTraitor actors".[18][19]

Sponsorships

In August 2021, Bybit sponsored Ukrainian esports organization Natus Vincere (NAVI) in a three-year deal.[20] Soon after, Bybit signed a similar agreement with Danish esports club Astralis featuring its branding on uniforms.[21][22]

In early 2022, Bybit entered Formula 1 as a sponsor of the Oracle Red Bull Racing team with a multi-year partnership, reportedly worth $150 million over three years.[23] The sponsorship ran through the 2022 to 2023 seasons, and concluded at the end of 2024 by mutual agreement.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Author, No (2025-03-03). "North Korea’s $1.5 billion heist puts the crypto world on notice" (in en). https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/03/asia-pacific/crime-legal/north-korea-billion-heist-crypto/. 
  2. ↑ Osipovich, Alexander (2021-07-30). "U.S. Crypto Traders Evade Offshore Exchange Bans" (in en-US). https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/u-s-crypto-traders-evade-offshore-exchange-bans-11627637401. 
  3. ↑ "OSC holds global crypto asset trading platforms accountable | OSC" (in en). 2022-06-22. https://www.osc.ca/en/news-events/news/osc-holds-global-crypto-asset-trading-platforms-accountable. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Yaffe-Bellany, David (February 22, 2025). "Big Day for Crypto Goes South After Bybit Hack". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/technology/crypto-exchange-bybit-hack.html. 
  5. ↑ Taubman, Benjamin (2024-06-25). "Bybit Is Now the World's Second-Largest Crypto Exchange". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-25/bybit-is-now-the-world-s-second-largest-crypto-exchange. 
  6. ↑ "Crypto Exchange Bybit Moves Headquarters to Dubai From Singapore". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-29/crypto-com-bybit-announce-plans-to-set-up-operations-in-dubai. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Cryptocurrency theft of £1.1bn could be biggest ever, says Bybit". February 22, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2844nvwx8o. 
  8. ↑ "UAE crypto push sees Bybit, Crypto.com announce Dubai offices". https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uae-crypto-push-sees-bybit-cryptocom-announce-dubai-offices-2022-03-28/. 
  9. ↑ "Ben Zhou: Latest Articles, Analysis and Profile" (in en). https://www.scmp.com/author/ben-zhou. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Schwartz, Leo. "FTX claims Bybit, one of world's largest crypto exchanges, used VIP status to pull hundreds of millions of dollars during collapse". https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/11/11/ftx-bybit-bankruptcy-lawsuit-vip-crypto-exchange/. 
  11. ↑ Wolf, Alex (October 25, 2024). "FTX Settles Suit Against Crypto Firm Bybit for $228 Million". Bloomberg Law. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/ftx-settles-suit-against-crypto-firm-bybit-for-228-million. 
  12. ↑ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (2025-02-21). "Crypto exchange Bybit says it was hacked and lost around $1.4B" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/21/crypto-exchange-bybit-says-it-was-hacked-and-lost-around-1-4-billion/. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "North Korean hackers suspected of being behind record US$1.5 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit". https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/north-korean-hackers-suspected-being-behind-record-us15-billion-hack-crypto-exchange-bybit-4954531. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sigalos, MacKenzie (2025-02-24). "Crypto exchange Bybit says it fully replenished reserves after record $1.5 billion hack" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/24/bybit-replenished-reserves-after-record-breaking-1point5-billion-hack.html. 
  15. ↑ Irabor, Edison (2025-04-18). "Why Collaboration is Vital in the Crypto Industry: The Bybit Hack and Bitget $106million Example" (in en-US). https://cryptoassetbuyer.com/why-collaboration-matters-crypto-industry/. 
  16. ↑ "Lazarus hacked Bybit via breached Safe{Wallet} developer machine" (in en-us). https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lazarus-hacked-bybit-via-breached-safe-wallet-developer-machine/. 
  17. ↑ Research, Elliptic. "The largest theft in history - following the money trail from the Bybit Hack" (in en). https://www.elliptic.co/blog/bybit-hack-largest-in-history. 
  18. ↑ McCurry, Justin (February 27, 2025). "North Korea behind $1.5bn hack of crypto exchange ByBit, says FBI". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/27/north-korea-bybit-crypto-exchange-hack-fbi. 
  19. ↑ "Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | North Korea Responsible for $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack". https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250226. 
  20. ↑ Nicholson, Jonno (August 18, 2021). "NAVI unveils Bybit as cryptocurrency partner". https://esportsinsider.com/2021/08/navi-bybit-partnership. 
  21. ↑ Daniels, Tom (August 23, 2021). "Astralis agrees three-year deal with cryptocurrency platform Bybit". https://esportsinsider.com/2021/08/astralis-agrees-three-year-deal-with-cryptocurrency-platform-bybit. 
  22. ↑ Gernigon, Frederik (August 23, 2021). "Dansk storhold indgår historisk sponsoraftale". https://www.bt.dk/e-sport/dansk-storhold-indgar-historisk-sponsoraftale. 
  23. ↑ "Red Bull Formula One Team Signs Cryptocurrency Sponsor". Bloomberg News. 16 February 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-16/red-bull-formula-one-team-signs-cryptocurrency-sponsor. 
  24. ↑ "Red Bull sign partnership deal with cryptocurrency exchange Bybit". February 16, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/red-bull-sign-partnership-deal-with-cryptocurrency-exchange-bybit-2022-02-16/. 

Template:Cryptocurrency exchanges



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