Crypto Market in Full Bear Mode After the $1.4B Bybit Hack. The Best Meme Coins to Lock in Now

On February 21, 2025, the North Korean hacking group Lazarus managed to steal approximately $1.5B worth of Ethereum. Despite the initial whiplash effect, the $1.5B Bybit hack could paradoxically boost the best meme coins in 2025 and beyond. Let’s dig into it.

Evidence Emerges of Bybit Hack’s Sophistication

Subsequent investigations showed that the hackers used malware to display a fake UI to all signers. This could’ve only been achieved if the bad actors somehow infected each multisig signer’s device, suggesting that the hack was more complex than initially thought.

The conclusion was that, in this particular case, the weakest link was probably the human element rather than Bybit’s security profile.

Crypto Market Crashes After Hackers Launder All Stolen 499K ETH

So, why is crypto so down today, so long after the hack? According to EmberCN, the hackers managed to launder the entire $1.4B (499,000 ETH), causing ETH’s price to drop 23% following the event.

Today, Bitcoin’s chart tells a sad story after falling to below 83K. Indeed, the whole crypto market seems to have collapsed, with even the best altcoins joining the bear movement.

DeFi Exchanges Come Under Fire

The Bybit hack didn’t impact cryptos alone. DeFi exchanges suffered, too. Chainflip, in particular, as the hackers started funneling the stolen assets through its platform mere hours after the breach.

Chainflip, to its credit, identified the suspicious activity and took action immediately.

The hackers also used THORChain, another high-profile DeFi service, to swap over $742M shortly after the event. Unlike Chainflip, which has a central authority, Thorchain is regulated by a network of validators, making it more difficult to implement any time-sensitive measures.

The THORChain network recorded massive trading volumes following the hack, reaching an all-time record of $859.61M on February 26. This caused $RUNE, the official THORChain token, to surge by up to 33% between February 21 and February 26.

In the spirit of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’, both Chainflip and THORChain were heavily criticized by the community for how they handled things.

Chainflip took the most heat, with many arguing that the platform’s decentralized nature meant that the hackers were free to launder the funds with impunity. At the opposite poll is THORChain, criticized for not taking action.

So, where does this leave us? The crypto market is slowly recovering, but it’s still not out of the bear-infested woods.

Even so, some see this as the best time to invest in new crypto projects in preparation for the next bull run. Especially, given the SEC’s upcoming series of roundtables on crypto security and regulation could turn the trend around.

The following are some of the most promising meme coins to buy while the market is down.

BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) is a meme project tied to Bitcoin’s market performance. The ongoing presale has raised over $3.1M with a token price of $0.00239.

BTC Bull has several mechanisms to support its long-term development:

• Bitcoin airdrops whenever Bitcoin breaks key price milestones ($150K and $200K)
• A massive $BTCBULL airdrop when Bitcoin reaches $250K
• Token burn events for every $50K that Bitcoin adds to its price ($125K, $175K, and $225K)

Stakers also enjoy a 135% APY with a dynamic reward rate (the more stakers there are, and the higher their contributions to the pool, the greater the rewards).

The project shows long-term promise as it rewards hodlers specifically and evaluates alongside Bitcoin.

The tokenomics data looks solid, and the project’s whitepaper does a good job of detailing the BTC Bull vision.

MIND of Pepe ($MIND) is an advanced AI entity designed to spur on the crypto conversation and mine the chatter for trading cues.

The self-evolving and self-sovereign AI agent interacts with people on X and Telegram and offers predictions and insights into the most promising crypto trends.

The roadmap hints at great things to come, with the final stage allowing MIND of Pepe to create and advertise its own tokens. $MIND holders will gain exclusive insights into these projects so that they can tune in early to maximize their profits.

The presale has raised over $7M with a $MIND valued at $0.0034402. MIND of Pepe currently rewards stakers with a 321% APY and a dynamic reward rate, so the earlier you invest, the higher the post-launch ROI.

Dogecoin ($DOGE) started as a joke in 2013 and quickly became a crypto sensation. While the project has no real-life utility, its fired-up fanbase gave it one; to take Doge to the moon.

They evidently succeeded, as today, Dogecoin is a top cryptocurrency with the 9th largest market cap. You can spend $DOGE in over 2.5K online stores to purchase anything from clothing and software to domains and private jets.$DOGE currently sits at $0.1939 after it gained 19% over the past year. The coin lost around 11.6% of its value in charts over the past 24 hours but appears to be in a consolidation phase, which could be the sign investors were looking for.

Where is the Crypto Market Going?

Now that we’ve answered the question of the day, ‘Why is crypto crashing?’, let’s look to the future.

Coindesk reported on March 1 that the crypto market may be showing the first signs of recovery, with Bitcoin moving slightly past $84K.

This assessment tends to be supported by the Fear and Greed Index, with Bitcoin’s price sitting above the community’s pessimistic predictions.

This positive outlook also comes in the context of BlackRock finally adding Bitcoin EFT to its $150B portfolio. This supports the trend of wider crypto institutional adoption, which could be another trigger for the next bullish wave.

For this reason, the best meme coins, especially ones like BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) and MIND of Pepe ($MIND) that are still in presale, are looking more appealing by the day.

Don’t take this as financial advice. Always DYOR and invest responsibly, as the crypto market is always risky and volatile.