Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly recovered its $1.46 billion loss from a recent hack, through a combination of loans, whale deposits, and Ethereum (ETH) purchases, according to Lookonchain data.
This is coming after the company launched a recovery bounty program with rewards of up to 10% of stolen funds. Bybit called on the brightest minds in cybersecurity and crypto analytics to join the global hunt for the perpetrators of crypto’s largest heist in history. With a reward of 10% of the amount recovered, the contributors stand to share a bounty of potentially up to 140 million USD in value in the scenario of a full recovery.
The CEO revealed that since the hack, the exchange experienced the greatest number of withdraws that it has ever seen. He disclosed that they had a total number of more than 350k withdrawal requests, and so far, around 2100 withdrawal requests left to be processed. Overall 99. 994% of withdrawals were disclosed to have been completed.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 17 (June 9 – Sept 6, 2025) today for early bird discounts. Do annual for access to Blucera.com.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register to become a better CEO or Director with Tekedia CEO & Director Program.
Moving forward, on February 24, Lookonchain reported that Bybit received a substantial. 157,660 ETH (approximately $437.8 million) from a single address, likely through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions. Additionally, another 109,033 ETH ($304.1 million) came from an entity that purchased ETH from both centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Whales and institutions provided over $127 million in ETH as loans, with:
- Bitget contributing 40,000 ETH ($106 million)
- MEXC sending 12,653 stETH ($33.9 million)
Further contributions included:
- 22,609 ETH ($61.9 million) from an OTC buyer.
- 20,000 ETH ($53.7 million) from an unknown entity.
- 10,000 ETH ($28 million) each from Mirana Ventures and a possible Fenbushi Capital-linked address.
- Smaller amounts from users linked to “@yuchao” (2,499 ETH) and DWF Labs (2,200 ETH).
Acknowledging the support received towards the recovery of the hacked funds, Bybit wrote,
“Within 24 hours of the event, we were overwhelmed with support from some of the best people and organizations in the industry, and we do not take it for granted. We have shared a dark moment in crypto history, and we’ve proven we are better than the malicious actors. We want to officially reward our community who lent us their expertise, experience, and support through the Recovery Bounty Program, and our efforts to make this difficult lesson a valuable one do not stop here. Bybit is determined to rise above the setback and fundamentally transform our security infrastructure, improve liquidity, and be a steadfast partner to our friends in the crypto community”.
On Monday 24, 2025, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced on X that Bybit has already fully closed the ETH gap, noting that a new audited POR report will be published very soon to show that the crypto exchange is again Back to 100% 1:1 on client assets through Merkle tree.
Possible Links to Phemex Hack and Lazarus Group
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified on-chain connections between the Bybit hack and the recent Phemex breach. The attackers merged stolen funds from both incidents using the same addresses, a strategy previously employed by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group in multiple hacks.
On the other hand, some reports have suggested that the perpetrators could be North Korean state hackers, the Lazarus Group, who have been blamed for previous large-scale heists, including the $615m theft from the blockchain project Ronin Group in 2022.
Bybit took a decisive step by reportedly purchasing $742 million worth of ETH to restore its referes making it one of the largest post-hack recoveries in crypto history. This move has had a significant impact on Ethereum’s market price, contributing to a 6% recovery from the previous week’s decline.
Notably, the rapid response by Bybit has been praised as a strong example of crisis management, though some analysts note that relying on loans means the exchange still has debts to settle, raising questions about long-term financial health.
I have been through the hands of scammers and while trying to get my 425,000 USD scammed funds back, I fell into another big scam too I finally got a solution after telling my friend about my situation She told me her husband was involve in a crypto scam too and introduced me to these company that helped her husband to recover his scammed crypto. I contacted them on :{ ANTHONYDAVIESTECH @ Gma?l ,C.O.M} and they helped me recovered all my stolen funds back to me successfully