After what could have been one of the largest crypto heists in history, Bybit has managed to claw back a staggering 77% of its stolen funds. The exchange has recovered approximately $1.155 billion worth of crypto assets, including 343,000 ETH from the 401,000 ETH stolen on February 21, 2025. An additional $40 million in other cryptocurrencies has also been retrieved. Not bad for a week’s work.
A billion-dollar comeback story with 77% of stolen crypto back in Bybit’s hands. Recovery at crypto speed.
The recovery operation reads like a Hollywood heist movie in reverse. Bybit deployed multiple strategies simultaneously—making strategic acquisitions from crypto investment firms, borrowing from industry partners, and directly purchasing assets from exchanges. CEO Ben Zhou personally confirmed that the exchange had fully restored their Ethereum reserves after the $1.5 billion hack. They even launched a bounty program offering up to 10% for recovered funds. Desperate times, desperate measures.
Most impressive? The speed. Within just 72 hours of the hack, the majority of the stolen assets were back in Bybit’s possession. The exchange’s internal security team coordinated with heavyweights like Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and Wintermute, while blockchain analytics firms such as Chainalysis tracked the digital breadcrumbs.
Throughout the ordeal, Bybit kept the lights on. User withdrawals continued to process normally, and the exchange maintained its 1:1 backing of user assets. The hack created significant network congestion as thousands of transactions flooded the blockchain during both the theft and recovery operations. A miracle, considering the circumstances.
The FBI has attributed the hack to North Korean-linked groups. Shocking absolutely no one. This incident has triggered increased regulatory scrutiny and may lead to new regulations for crypto asset protection. Experts believe implementing multi-factor authentication could have potentially prevented the initial account takeover that led to the breach. Legal actions have already begun against identified perpetrators.
The crypto industry isn’t taking this lying down. There’s been an urgent review of cold wallet security protocols and implementation of advanced multi-signature schemes. Exchanges are reassessing their disaster recovery plans and sharing threat intelligence.
The hunt for the remaining 23% of stolen funds continues. Bybit provides daily updates on recovery progress, apparently determined to achieve full restitution. The crypto world watches nervously—because next time, it could be them.
