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These days, they are somewhat less concerning due to proof-of-reserves data available online. Bybit, which is not available in the US, had roughly $16.2 billion in assets on its exchange prior to being hacked, according to reserves data from CoinMarketCap, making the stolen Ether and Ether derivatives equivalent to roughly 9% of its total assets.
Still, the incident pulled the rug out from under an early rally in the sector amid what Alexis Sirkia, chairman of Yellow Network, described as “panic selling and liquidity disruptions.”
Bitcoin slid almost 5% from its highs of the day, trading below $95,000 as stock markets closed in New York. Ether, the token targeted in the Bybit hack, lost more than 8% from its high of the day. Smaller altcoins and so-called memecoins fared even worse, with Dogecoin tumbling 10% from its day’s high.
“Today’s events just demonstrate crypto and memes are not just highly volatile, and not just susceptible to scams and frauds, but susceptible to these types of hacking incidents where investors’ money can just simply be stolen,” said Benjamin Schiffrin, director of securities policy at the advocacy group Better Markets. “We hear now Congress talking explicitly about providing a light-touch regulation for the crypto industry. And I think light-touch regulation is not going to prevent people from losing money in incidents like today’s.”
