In a recent incident reported on February 23rd, Bybit’s Ethereum (ETH) holdings experienced a dramatic decline. Following a major security breach on February 21st, the exchange’s ETH reserves reportedly fell to approximately 61,000 coins. However, current data from CryptoQuant indicates a recovery, with Bybit now holding about 308,100 ETH, marking a substantial rebound of roughly 70% from the pre-incident total of 439,000 ETH recorded on February 20th.
This catastrophic breach, which resulted in the loss of over $1.4 billion in various tokens, including STETH, mETH, and other assets from the Ethereum ecosystem, has been classified as one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts to date. The implications of such a breach for both the security of exchanges and investor confidence in digital assets cannot be overstated, highlighting the critical importance of robust security protocols in the crypto industry.