Cryptocurrency Market Suffers $1.53 Billion Loss in February from Bybit Hack Incident
Crypto Hack Havoc soars in February, Raking in a Staggering $1.53 Billion
Surprise, surprise! February is turning out to be quite the month for crypto project hacking incidents. According to the latest report from Immunefi, a whopping $1.53 billion worth of crypto has been swiped from various projects, a staggering 20 times more than January's haul of a measly $73.9 million. To put things in perspective, February's losses are a whopping 18 times greater than the same period last year, which stood at a still-hefty $81.6 million.
But hold your horses, folks! We're not done yet. If you exclude the colossal Bybit hack, the industry's total losses shrink down to a comparatively petite $68.3 million. The Bybit incident marks the single largest attack in the history of centralized exchanges, outshining earlier debacles like the 2018 Coincheck attack ($534 million), the 2014 Mt. Gox attack ($470 million), and the 2022 FTX fiasco during bankruptcy proceedings ($415 million).
Notable victims of this month's hacking spree in addition to Bybit include DeFi protocols like Infini, zkLend, Ionic Money, Cardex, Four.Meme, Cashverse, BankX, and GoldReserve NFT.
In some positive news, the Imminufi report didn't register any fraud cases. Earlier estimations by the experts at EmberCN intimated that around 18% of the stolen funds from Bybit might have been launderered by the malicious actors. Meanwhile, on the same day, Bybit reportedly repaid a lofty 40,000 ETH loan to Bitget.
Tech wizard Adam Back attributed the Bybit incident to an incorrect EVM design, while analysts at Sygnia zeroed in on a vulnerability in Safe's infrastructure. At this juncture, we're still unclear about the specific details of the hack. But it seems this $1.53 billion heist is somewhat linked to dubious activities involving North Korean entities, given that experts speculate they've stepped up their Bitcoin holdings following this incident, surpassing both El Salvador and Bhutan.
- The recent crypto hack incidents in February have escalated the total stolen crypto to an astounding $1.53 billion, a 20-fold increase from January's loot.
- Despite the significant losses, the general news sector reported no fraud cases in the crypto industry this month, according to the Immunefi report.
- Several DeFi protocols, including Infini, zkLend, Ionic Money, and GoldReserve NFT, have fallen victim to this month's hacking spree, alongside centralized exchanges like Bybit.
- Experts in the fintech and cybersecurity sectors are investigating the specifics of the Bybit hack, with some pointing towards an incorrect EVM design or a vulnerability in Safe's infrastructure.
- Surrounding the Bybit hack, there are speculations that North Korean entities may have been involved, as the experts suggest they have been increasing their Bitcoin holdings, surpassing both El Salvador and Bhutan.
