- Ether (ETH) price increased by 2.3% while broader crypto market showed modest gains, with Bitcoin declining 0.3%.
- North Korean Hacking group Lazarus currently holds 489,000 ETH (approximately $1.34 billion) from the Bybit hack.
- Bybit has moved 100 million USDT to new addresses, using half to purchase 36,900 ETH over-the-counter.
- The stolen funds are marked and blacklisted by major cryptocurrency exchanges, making them difficult to liquidate.
- Bybit CEO confirms the exchange maintains substantial reserves with nearly $3 billion in USDT held in cold storage.
The cryptocurrency market witnessed divergent movements as Ethereum‘s native token ether rose significantly while other major digital assets showed mixed performance. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization gained 2.3% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the CoinDesk 20 Index’s 0.76% increase.
Following the recent $1.5 billion hack, Bybit has taken strategic steps to address the situation. According to reports from crypto journalist Colin Wu, the exchange transferred 100 million USDT to new addresses, with 50 million USDT being used to acquire 36,900 ETH through over-the-counter transactions.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, sought to reassure users during an AMA session, stating “there is a cold wallet in safe with nearly 3 billion US dollars in USDT,” as reported by Wu. Cold wallets are offline storage solutions that provide enhanced security against cyber threats.
The Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking collective, now controls approximately 0.4% of Ethereum’s total supply through the stolen funds. This makes them the 14th-largest ETH holder, though their ability to utilize these assets is severely restricted.
StealthEX CEO Maria Carola explained to CoinDesk, “The stolen funds have already been marked, making it extremely difficult for the Hacker to use them. Any attempt to transfer these funds to a major exchange would result in an immediate block.”
Crypto analysts have begun speculating that the marked ETH might effectively be removed from circulation, potentially impacting the cryptocurrency’s available supply. This situation highlights the growing sophistication of crypto security measures and the challenges faced by malicious actors in monetizing stolen digital assets.
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Previous Articles:
- Bybit Exchange Hit by Record $1.4 Billion Crypto Hack
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- SEC Closes Investigation into NFT Marketplace OpenSea, No Enforcement Action Planned
- US Senate Banking Committee Sets Hearing on Bitcoin Legislation as Price Nears $100,000
- North Korean Hacker Becomes 14th Largest Ethereum Holder with $1.34B Worth of ETH
