Bybit launches $140 million recovery bounty program for stolen $1.5 billion

Bybit is putting $140 million on the table for anyone who can help recover the $1.5 billion in stolen crypto from the biggest hack in history. The exchange, which is the second-largest by trading volume, announced that it will reward 10% of any funds recovered to cybersecurity experts, blockchain analysts, and ethical hackers who can track down the missing assets.

The February 21 hack saw attackers drain over $1.4 billion worth of liquid-staked Ether (stETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH), and other ERC-20 tokens from Bybit’s cold wallets. The stolen funds were quickly moved through mixers and blockchain bridges in an attempt to launder them.

North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been linked to the attack, and blockchain investigator ZachXBT confirmed that at least 5,000 ETH from the stolen funds has already been laundered through eXch and bridged to Bitcoin via Chainflip. He initially posted a report on Telegram and later confirmed it on X, but the post was deleted within an hour.

Bybit calls on the crypto community to track stolen funds

Bybit isn’t waiting for authorities to act. The exchange is rallying the crypto security community to help trace the stolen funds. Ben Zhou, Bybit’s co-founder and CEO, confirmed that the exchange will pay out 10% of any recovered funds to those who help track and reclaim the stolen assets.

“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,” Ben said.

He added that the exchange is determined to “rise above the setback” and is overhauling its security measures to prevent future breaches.

Despite the massive $1.4 billion loss, Bybit remains fully solvent, with reserves exceeding liabilities, according to blockchain security firm Hacken, which conducted an independent Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) audit.

Hacken stated on X: “Today’s hack was massive—a tough hit for the industry. But here’s the bottom line: Bybit’s reserves still exceed its liabilities. As their independent PoR auditor, we’ve confirmed that user funds remain fully backed.”

Meanwhile, Bybit has been actively buying back ETH to maintain liquidity. A suspected Bybit address received $100 million USDT, then moved $50 million to Galaxy Digital and FalconX OTC desks, purchasing 36,900 ETH, which was later deposited back into the exchange.

The crypto industry has responded swiftly to Bybit’s crisis. Major firms have stepped up to provide emergency liquidity, including:

• Binance: 50,000 ETH
• Bitget: 40,000 ETH
• HTX co-founder Du Jun: 10,000 ETH

Bybit confirmed that Antalpha, Pionex, MEXC, Mirana, Sosovalue, Solana Foundation, TON Foundation, Blockchain Center Dubai, Ghaf Capital, Bitvavo, Tether, and Galaxy Digital all assisted in stabilizing the exchange.

“Bybit is overwhelmed by the support that we got from partners and industry friends during last night’s critical time,” Ben said. “We will need a lot more help down the road as well.”

Even after suffering the biggest crypto heist in history, Bybit has processed more than 350,000 withdrawal requests in 10 hours, completing 99.9% of them by 1:45 AM UTC, according to Ben.

“Although we have been hit by the worst hack possibly in the history of any medians (banks, crypto, finance), all Bybit functions and products remain functional. The whole team has been awake all night to process and answer client questions and concerns,” he wrote on X.

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