Bybit hackers steal record US$1.5b tokens

Crypto exchange Bybit said it was hacked, resulting in what analysts estimate was the loss of almost US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) worth of tokens in the biggest theft ever committed in the industry.
Researchers believe North Korean hackers were likely responsible.
A hacker took control of one of Bybit's offline ethereum wallets, Bybit chief executive Ben Zhou said in a post on X on Friday.
An estimated US$1.46 billion in assets flowed out of the wallet in a series of suspicious transactions, according to posts by on-chain analyst ZachXBT on Telegram.
Research firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed around US$1.4 billion in outflows from the exchange, posting on X that "the funds have begun to move to new addresses where they are being sold."
Ether slipped almost 8 percent after the theft, and bitcoin fell almost 5 percent.