A massive cyber theft worth billions has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market. Bybit, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, recently announced that hackers managed to steal digital tokens amounting to a staggering $1.5 billion. This incident has been labeled as the largest crypto heist in history by experts. Bybit’s CEO, Ben Zhou, disclosed that the stolen crypto was taken from a “cold wallet,” typically considered more secure as it is stored offline. The wallet was primarily used for ether tokens.
Elliptic, a blockchain research firm, confirmed that this latest hack surpassed the previous record for the largest crypto theft, making it potentially the biggest known theft ever. The crypto industry has been plagued by a series of thefts leading to concerns about the safety of customer funds. In 2024 alone, hacking incidents have resulted in over $2 billion in losses, marking the fourth consecutive year with theft amounts exceeding $1 billion.
Several other major thefts have marred the cryptocurrency industry since the inception of bitcoin in 2008. One significant incident involved the Poly Network hack in August 2021, where hackers made off with approximately $610 million. This attack highlighted vulnerabilities within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, where users engage in token transactions without traditional financial intermediaries.
Another notable heist occurred in March 2022 when hackers stole crypto valued at around $540 million from the Ronin Network, associated with the popular online game Axie Infinity. This breach affected the transfer of significant amounts of ether and USD Coin tokens across different blockchains.
In January 2018, Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck fell victim to hackers who stole cryptocurrency worth roughly $530 million. This breach focused attention on the security practices of exchanges, with suspicions raised that a North Korean hacking group might have been involved.
One of the earliest and most renowned crypto hacks took place at the Mt.Gox exchange in Tokyo between 2011 and 2014, resulting in the theft of bitcoin valued close to $500 million. Following the hack, Mt. Gox, previously the world’s leading bitcoin exchange, declared bankruptcy, leaving thousands of customers without access to their funds.
In a more recent incident, DeFi platform Wormhole suffered a $320 million heist last month, with hackers absconding with 120,000 digital tokens linked to the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether. The crypto division of Jump Trading, based in Chicago and owners of the Wormhole developer, replenished the stolen funds to support the affected community members and the ongoing development of Wormhole.
