Bybit

Hacked

Exchange · born 2018 · ✝ 2025

The largest crypto theft in history — $1.5B gone in one signature.

Bybit was the world's second-largest crypto exchange when, on February 21, 2025, North Korea's Lazarus Group stole ~$1.5B in ETH during a routine cold-to-hot wallet transfer. The exchange survived by securing emergency liquidity.

Peak: $1.5B stolen (single heist)
Cause: Hacked
Year of death: 2025

☠️ Cause of death

Attackers compromised Safe Wallet's frontend, swapping the transaction Bybit's CEO thought he was signing. Despite multisig and cold-storage practices, a malicious UI redirect sent 401,000 ETH to Lazarus-controlled addresses.

📓 Lessons left behind

—What you see on screen is not what you sign — verify on a second device.
—Third-party wallet software is part of your attack surface.
—Even bulletproof custody fails if one signer trusts a poisoned interface.

🌱 The idea that survived

Air-gapped signing & open-source UIs

Exchanges rushed to independent transaction verification, custom signing stacks, and reduced reliance on third-party wallet frontends.

#exchange#lazarus#safe-wallet#record-heist