📅 On February 21, 2025, a day referred to as "Black Friday" in the crypto industry. As night fell, a crack silently opened in the cold wallet of one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bybit—400,000 Ethereum (ETH) worth $1.4 billion and 90,000 staked Ethereum (stETH) poured out like a torrent, flowing to an unknown hacker address. This theft, the largest in cryptocurrency history, not only shattered the "crime ceiling" for hackers but also struck a heavy blow to the industry's blind trust in "absolute security."

A Carefully Designed "Digital Heist"

The hacker's blade precisely targeted the crypto world's proud "vault"—the multi-signature cold wallet. They acted like ghosts lurking in the shadows of code, altering the underlying logic of the smart contract and forging a seemingly normal transaction signature interface. When Bybit's auditors clicked "confirm," the permissions of the cold wallet had quietly changed hands. Ironically, this theft did not rely on technological superiority but exploited human weaknesses: a disguised signature interface and a "routine" transfer audit turned the supposedly "impenetrable" multi-signature mechanism into a mere facade.
The absurdity of the "cold storage failure" raises the question: when a hacker's spear pierces the thickest shield, what can exchanges use to protect users' assets? Bybit CEO Ben Zhou feigned calm during a live broadcast: "We have filled 80% of the funding gap; user assets are absolutely safe." Yet the withdrawal screenshots that went viral on Twitter and the plummeting ETH price silently tore apart this promise.

On-Chain Pursuit: A Real-Life Fable of Cat and Mouse

The stolen ETH split like a virus into 49 addresses, rampaging through decentralized exchanges (DEX). Slippage soared, trading losses mounted, and mixing and laundering ensued… The hacker toyed with the on-chain detectives following closely behind using textbook-level counter-surveillance tactics. Although institutions like Elliptic quickly marked the addresses of the stolen funds and platforms like Tether and Circle froze some assets, the $1.26 billion hacker balance still hung over the market like the sword of Damocles—no one knew when it would turn into a flood of sell-offs, once again collapsing the already fragile confidence.
The main character behind this farce turned out to be the notorious North Korean hacker group Lazarus. From Sony Pictures to Ronin Network, this group of "state hackers" operating in the digital battlefield has repeatedly declared to the world: in the dark forest of crypto, there is no absolute security, only eternal hunting.

Avalanche of Trust: When Faith Becomes a Gamble

Within 24 hours of the incident's exposure, the cryptocurrency market welcomed a bloody dawn. ETH price plummeted by 6.7%, and Bitcoin followed with a 3% drop, leaving 170,000 investors with nothing after liquidation. More deadly was the crack in trust—users rushed to withdraw, the synthetic token USDe decoupled, and the proof of reserves (PoR) of exchanges faced widespread skepticism. A retail investor shouted on Reddit: "They said cold wallets are foolproof, yet my ETH still became the hacker's prize pool!"
Ironically, the only glimmer of hope during this crisis came from "fellow rivals." Exchanges like Binance and OKX rallied overnight, Bitget generously donated 40,000 ETH in support, and whale users voluntarily provided liquidity… The industry's efforts to douse the flames seemed to ignite a faint campfire of hope in despair. But when the flames died down, a harsh question remained glaring: if the next target is a small exchange, will these acts of kindness still play out?

Self-Protection Revelation: Do Your Assets Really Belong to You?

The Bybit incident exposed the threefold lies of exchanges:

"Multi-signature cold wallets are absolutely secure"—unaudited smart contracts are merely ATMs in the eyes of hackers;

"SAFU insurance fund provides a safety net"—in the face of a $1.4 billion black hole, no amount of insurance becomes a joke;

"We have never been hacked"—security has never been a slogan but a continuous battle for survival.

For users, this disaster sounded the most piercing alarm: "Your money in an exchange = lending it to someone else for safekeeping!" Hardware wallets, decentralized storage, regular audit reports—these age-old safety rules finally gained heavy weight in light of bloody lessons. And for exchanges, it is time to stop using the sugar-coated illusion of "absolute security" to numb users. Monthly public PoR, mandatory audits of smart contracts, and industry-wide anti-money laundering blacklists… Only by turning transparency into armor can the collapsed trust be rebuilt.

Conclusion: The Sisyphus Battle in the Crypto World

The Bybit hacking incident is destined to become a scar in the industry's chronicle. It reminds us: in this paradoxical world of crypto, security is an endless war. Hackers are evolving, defenses are upgrading, and all ordinary users can do is hold tight to their private keys and tread carefully on the balance between centralization and decentralization. After all, when even the vaults of exchanges can be easily pried open, the only thing left to trust may be the hardware wallet in one's own hands.
"Where are your crypto assets stored?"—this question has never been more urgent.

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