The infamous group of cryptocurrency hackers, North Korea’s Lazarus Group, has been identified to be responsible for Bybit’s $1.4 billion Ethereum hack. This finding was made by Crypto investigator ZachXBT. The hack sustained by Bybit is the latest in the series of hacking attempts orchestrated by the Lazarus Group.
ZachXBT has found enough evidence to substantiate Lazarus Group’s connection to the Bybit hack. It has analyzed multiple forensics graphs and conducted timing analysis to confirm Lazarus Group’s stronghold behind this hacking attempt. This attack on Bybit is also connected to the recent attack on the Phemex exchange, in which investors lost $30 million. Even though Bybit has claimed to have raised 80% of the stolen amount through bridge loans, investors are still concerned. This hack has caused the prices of ETH and other digital assets to fall.
How did the Hack Occur?
The hack on the Bybit exchange by the Lazarus group that cost them Ethereum (ETH) worth $1.4 billion is one of the largest online currency thefts in recent times. The hack occurred when the attacker manipulated the transactions between digital wallets connected to the Bybit exchange and transferred the crypto to an unidentified address.
The funds were quickly transferred to multiple wallets and were soon liquidated, making it difficult to trace them. This hack is of huge proportions compared to other major cryptocurrency thefts including the $611 million stolen from Poly Network in 2021 and the $570 million drained from Binance in 2022.
What Measures have been taken by Bybit to Safeguard the Victims?
Following the hack and the anticipated insolvency of the Bybit exchange, withdrawal requests by investors are flocking in. Bybit has taken measures to stabilize the cash outflows and withdrawal requests are dealt with in such a way that the position of the exchange does not deteriorate all of a sudden. Bybit has also secured a bridge loan from an undisclosed partner to deal with the lost amounts and take forward its daily operations.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, has reassured every investor that they could raise 80% of the stolen amount through the bridge loan and that the investors need not panic and file withdrawal requests at short notice. The hack occurred on Bybit’s native cold storage and he assured that the rest of the cold wallets are secure.
Other Prominent Hacks by the Lazarus Group
The Lazarus Group has been an infamous name for orchestrating several hacks on cryptocurrency exchanges all over the world. The group is North Korea’s state-sponsored hacking collective that preys on the inadvertent vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency transactions to collect funds for North Korea’s internal affairs.
Lazarus group has been the mastermind behind several cryptocurrency hacks that have cost investors millions of dollars and tarnished the reputation of digital currency transactions. The earliest hacks by the group, known as Operation Troy, took place from 2009 to 2012. It utilized unsophisticated distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) techniques to target the South Korean government.
The Lazarus Group was reported to have stolen $12 million from the Banco del Austro in Ecuador and $1 million from Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank in 2015. In 2016, the group attacked the Bangladesh bank and stole $81 million. In 2017, the Lazarus Group attacked Bitcoin and Monero investors in South Korea.
A major cryptocurrency attack by the Lazarus group occurred in March 2022 where $620 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the Ronin Network, a bridge used by the Axie Infinity game, were stolen. A theft of $100 million of virtual currency from Harmony’s Horizon Bridge took place in June 2022. In 2023, $300 million was stolen by the Lazarus group from various sources. In 2024, an India-based local cryptocurrency exchange named WazirX was hacked by the group and $234.9 million worth of crypto assets were stolen.
The Bottom Line: How Has the Hack Affected Ethereum (ETH) Price?
The price of ETH has been adversely affected by the hack on the Bybit exchange. The current price of the token is down from its all-time high price of $4,878.26 by 44%. The Ethereum price prediction sentiment is currently bearish, while the Fear & Greed Index is showing 49 (Neutral). It is currently trading -12.25% below the 200-day SMA which is $ 3,066.46.
Moreover, it is currently trading at -34.28% below the cycle high and 199.96% above the cycle low. ETH tokens are at a low now and it is expected that it will take time for the currency to rise to its all-time high levels.
