Bybit exchange repays 40,000 ETH post-hack loan from Bitget

On-chain data highlighted that Bybit exchange transferred 40,000 Ethereum worth approximately $100 million back to Bitget. Bitget sent the loan to Bybit three days ago after hackers breached the exchange’s system.

On-chain data revealed that Bybit had refunded the 40,000 Ethereum loan to Bitget three days after receipt. Crypto exchange Bitget transferred the ETH after Bybit suffered an over-billion-dollar hack last week. 

Bybit exchange refunds Bitget’s 40,000 Ethereum loan days after hack 

Bybit exchange reported it had suffered from a hack that saw it lose $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency on February 21. The exchange announced that an attacker manipulated a routine Ethereum transfer between its digital wallets. 

It seems bybit just transferred 40K $ETH ($100M) back to bitget.

Bitget sent these $ETH 3 days ago as part of the loan deal to help cover bybit's ETH shortage.https://t.co/0fOKm3UDG6 pic.twitter.com/w2yiTeqTVJ

— lmk.fun 🦜 (Prev. Scopescan) (@lmkfun) February 25, 2025

The company revealed the attacker transferred the crypto to an unidentified address shortly after the hack. Bybit announced that its security team was actively investigating the hack and invited teams with expertise in blockchain analytics to assist. 

Bybit’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ben Zhou assured clients their assets were safe. He added the news of the hack had led to an increase in withdrawals. The CEO warned there could be delays as they tried to process them. 

The CEO highlighted the company would remain solvent even if it failed to recover the funds lost in the hack.

Elliptic identified North Korea’s Lazarus group as the perpetrator of the $1.5 billion hack after analyzing the transaction wallets used in the attack. Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s Chief Scientist, reported that they had labeled the thief’s addresses in their software. He added that this would prevent the funds from being liquidated through other exchanges. 

Bybit exchange received loans from other exchanges, such as Bitget and Binance, as it addressed the withdrawal requests. Arkham Intelligence revealed that Bybit received over 88,000 Ether from Bitget and Binance addresses. 

The intelligence firm noted that Bitget transferred 40,000 Ether worth $106 million to a Bybit cold wallet on February 21. SpotOnChain data also revealed that Bybit received 12,652 Ethereum worth $33.9 million from a MEXC hot wallet. 

Zhou reports that the Bybit exchange already closed the ETH gap after the hack 

On-chain data highlighted that Bitget transferred the digital assets to the exchange to ensure they remained solvent and boosted market confidence. Bitget’s CEO, Gracy Chen assured its clients that the funds transferred to Bybit were from Bitget’s own reserves. She noted the transferred funds would not affect the customers’ assets. 

On-chain data also revealed that Bybit purchased $742 million worth of Ethereum between February 22 and 23. It added that Bybit had acquired Ethereum from institutions such as Galaxy Digital and Wintermute through over-the-counter transactions.

Zhou later announced that his cryptocurrency exchange had replaced the Ether lost during the hack. The CEO stated that a new audited proof of reserve report would be published soon to show that the Bybit exchange was back to 100% 1:1 on client assets through Merkle Tree. SpotonChain also reported that Bybit had received $172.5 million in loans from various institutions to help manage the withdrawals.

Arkham Intelligence reported that Bybit made a 3,000 ETH transfer worth approximately $7.5 million to Binance from a hot wallet earlier today. On-chain data also revealed that Bybit moved Ethereum from its hot wallet to a cold wallet before transferring to Bitget. 

The loan refunds indicate that Bybit recovered from the loss four days after the hack. Arkham Intelligence data showed that Lazarus Group had begun laundering the stolen digital assets. The firm revealed that wallets linked to the hacker had made two to three transactions per minute. It added the hacker had transferred the ETH between addresses. 

Zhou thanked Bybit’s partners and security teams for their actions and support after the hack. He added the quick action illustrated the industry’s resilience and maturity. The hack’s response united both centralized and decentralized finance sectors. 

MYX, Thruster, and Owlto blocked addresses linked to the hack, while Chainalysis provided support by tracking and publishing the attacker’s wallet addresses. Industry players such as Antalpha Global and Pionex provided more support.

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