Bybit’s $742M Ethereum Shopping Spree: A Hack-tastrophe or Just a Clever Ruse?

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Ah, the illustrious Bybit exchange, a veritable titan of the crypto realm, has recently embarked on a most curious shopping spree, acquiring a staggering 266,700 ETH, valued at a jaw-dropping $742 million, all within the span of two days! One can only wonder if they were inspired by the latest trends in extravagant spending or perhaps just trying to distract us from their recent misadventure. 🤑

These transactions, dear reader, unfolded in the wake of a most audacious $1.4 billion hack that left the industry gasping in disbelief. A wallet, cryptically dubbed “0x2E45…1b77,” decided to indulge in a little retail therapy, purchasing 157,660 Ethereum (ETH)—a princely sum of approximately $437 million—from the likes of Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and Wintermute, all through the mysterious art of over-the-counter transactions. The first of these transactions took place on the fateful day of February 22 at precisely 4:44 PM UTC, a time that surely holds some cosmic significance! ⏰

It seems that #Bybit has bought 266,694 $ETH($742M) after being hacked.

0x2E45…1b77(related to #Bybit) bought 157,660 $ETH($437.82M) from Galaxy Digital, FalconX, Wintermute via OTC.

0xd7CF…A995(likely related to #Bybit) bought 109,033 $ETH($304.12M) from DEXs and CEXs.…

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 24, 2025

But wait! There’s more! A second wallet, whimsically named “0xd7CF…A995,” also joined the fray, splurging a cool $304 million on Ethereum, utilizing both centralized and decentralized exchanges. One can only imagine the conversations these wallets must have had over a cup of digital coffee! ☕

While these wallets are not officially recognized as part of Bybit, the astute analysts at Lookonchain and Arkham Intelligence have drawn connections based on transaction trends that would make even the most seasoned detective raise an eyebrow. The wallets’ interactions with Binance and MEXC hot wallets only serve to stoke the flames of speculation regarding their true affiliations. 🔍

All this excitement follows one of the largest crypto exchange hacks in history, where a nefarious hacker exploited Bybit’s multisig cold wallet using a masked URL trick—truly a plot twist worthy of a novel! The audacious thief managed to drain over 401,000 ETH, and has since been busy moving the stolen funds across a veritable labyrinth of wallets, prompting a frantic effort to freeze these ill-gotten gains.

In a remarkable display of teamwork, major blockchain entities have already managed to freeze $42.89 million in just one day, as reported by Bybit’s February 23 X post. Platforms like Tether, THORChain, Avalanche, CoinEx, Bitget, and Circle have all played their part in this grand drama, identifying and blocking blacklisted addresses, thus limiting the attacker’s ability to launder their loot. Bravo! 👏

A coordinated effort led to the freezing of $42.89M in just one day. Thanks to the following teams for their swift action: @Tether_to: Flagged address and froze 181K USDT @THORChain: Blocked the blacklist @ChangeNOW_io: Froze 34 ETH @FixedFloat: Froze 120K USDC + USDT…

— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 23, 2025

Despite this monumental hack, Bybit has managed to keep its financial ship afloat, with CEO Ben Zhou assuring us that all user funds are secure. According to the ever-watchful Lookonchain data, Bybit has received approximately 446,870 ETH, or about $1.23 billion, from whale deposits, loans, and those delightful ETH purchases since the hack. And as if that weren’t enough, a $140 million bounty has been offered to security researchers and ethical hackers who can help retrieve the stolen assets. What a time to be alive in the world of crypto! 💰

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2025-02-24 07:53