• After the biggest hack in crypto history, Bybit experienced a sharp $5.2 billion drop in reserves within 24 hours.
• The exchange secured $172.5 million in emergency loans and continued processing transactions
• Bybit’s swift and transparent crisis response drew widespread praise from industry leaders.

Bybit has seen a sharp decline in its asset reserves, losing over $5 billion within 24 hours after suffering a $1.5 billion hack.

Despite the setback, the exchange’s crisis management has drawn widespread praise from industry leaders.

Massive Withdrawals Test Bybit’s Stability

Data from DeFiLlama shows Bybit’s reserves shrank by approximately $5.2 billion within 24 hours. Despite the drop, on-chain data confirms that the exchange still holds more than $11.4 billion in assets.

The plunge followed a surge in withdrawal requests, with over 350,000 transactions flooding the platform. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that employees worked overnight to process the backlog. He later assured users that withdrawals had returned to normal.

“12 hr from the worst hack in history. All withdraws have been processed. Our withdraw system is now fully back to normal pace, you can withdraw any amount and experience no delays. All Bybit functions and product remain functional, the Whole team had been awake all night to process and answer client questions and concerns,” Zhou added.

Meanwhile, Bybit secured $172.5 million in emergency loans within seven hours to reinforce its reserves. Blockchain analytical firm SpotOnChain reported that the funds came from multiple platforms, including Binance, Bitget, and MEXC.

On February 21, a security breach compromised Bybit’s Ethereum multisig cold wallet. According to Zhou, the attack stemmed from a disguised transaction that moved funds from a cold wallet to a warm wallet, granting unauthorized access to the hacker.

Unlike many exchanges that freeze withdrawals after an attack, Bybit allowed transactions to continue, preventing widespread panic among users.

Industry Applauds Bybit’s Response

Bybit’s swift and transparent handling of the crisis has drawn praise from key industry figures.

Dragonfly’s global support lead, Casey Taylor, called the exchange’s response a “masterclass in crisis communication.” Taylor highlighted how Zhou personally addressed the situation within 30 minutes of the first public report, preventing market speculation.

“ByBit’s response was fast, transparent, and well-executed… instead of just reacting, they executed a playbook. The result is clear—people believed this was handled masterfully,” Taylor explained.

Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs, echoed this sentiment, describing Bybit’s crisis management as an industry benchmark.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen a team handle crisis communications as well as they did. Stood up to face the music immediately to provide transparent answers to the community. An example for us all to look up to,” Young remarked.

Austin Federa, co-founder of Double Zero, also praised the exchange for its quick and transparent approach. He emphasized that traditional crisis management tactics often fail in Web3, making Bybit’s response a model for others.

“These situations are extremely hard but [ByBit] team responded quickly, with empathy, and with the facts they knew to be true…The only strategy in web3 is transparency, humility, and clarity,” Federa stated.

Reports confirmed that North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group carried out the Bybit hack. Recovering such enormous funds would be difficult, especially from a nation-state actor like Lazarus.