The biggest hack in Web3 history: We witnessed the greatest unity

Author:Tian Daxia; Source: Tian Daxia's Web3 Jianghu

On February 21, 2025, an ordinary night, for the global encryption industry, it was like a heavy bomb, tearing open the calm surface of encryption.

At 11:20 p.m. Beijing time on the 21st, the currency circle detective ZachXBT posted that a large amount of funds outflow was detected on the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, with a total amount of up to 1.46 billion US dollars.

Some people began to doubt whether this was just a "normal wallet sorting" operation, and some people felt that the crisis was coming quietly in their hearts.

As Bybit co-founder Ben Zhou confirmed, Bybit was hacked and funds worth $1.44 billion were stolen.

Faced with such a large amount, people realized that this was not only the largest hacker attack in the history of Web3 blockchain so far, but also an industry crisis.

Cracks and unity in the crypto world

In order to understand the importance of this hacker incident, we need to review the impact of the "FTX Thunder" incident a few years ago on the industry.

At that time, FTX, as the top two giants in the crypto industry, directly caused the crypto market to fall into violent shocks at the moment of collapse.

FTX's misappropriation of user assets not only caused a huge impact on the trust of the entire industry, but also caused the crypto field to experience a trough for several months.

At that time, BTC fell below $17,000, and the crypto market accelerated its bearish trend, making the future of the industry full of uncertainty.

However, unlike the FTX incident, the hacker attack that Bybit encountered this time was not a betrayal from within the industry, but a malicious invasion from an external hacker organization.

Behind this hacking incident, there is not only an impact on the security of digital assets, but also a change in the world of martial arts

——How can adecentralized crypto world put aside past disputes, unite, and meet challenges when facing a common enemy.

In martial arts novels, the world of martial arts is always full of contests between heroes and evil forces, and hackers are precisely those "evil forces" hidden in the shadows.

They often hide in the dark, but can create disasters in an instant.

In this incident, Bybit's cold wallet was attacked, and the hackers behind it are undoubtedly synonymous with evil. And the "knights" standing in this crisis are every participant in the encryption industry.

So far, Bybit has also completed an unprecedented crisis public relations response. In addition to their own response, they have also received support from all forces in the industry.

In this decentralized arena, only unity can resist external evil forces.

After the incident, Binance He Yi and others posted articles to express their concern and willingness to provide help.

Sun Yuchen, founder of TRON and global advisor of Huobi HTX, expressed his concern at the first time: "We are paying close attention to the Bybit security incident and will do our best to assist partners in tracking relevant funds and provide all possible support."

North Korean hacker group, the biggest enemy of the encryption industry

Chain detective ZachXBT in the early morning Beijing time 3:09 Submitted conclusive evidence confirming that the attack on Bybit was carried out by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.

ZachXBT's analysis report includes detailed information such as test transactions before the attack, analysis of associated wallets, multiple forensic charts, and timeline analysis.

Currently, the Bybit hacker's ETH holdings exceed Fidelity and Vitalik, becoming the 14th largest holder in the world.

Lazarus Group is a hacker group composed of an unknown number of people, allegedly controlled by the North Korean government.

Although people know little about the group, researchers have attributed several cyber attacks to them since 2010.

Unlike the "insider" of FTX, this time, the hackers had clear goals and efficient means. The entire attack was like a gust of wind in the dark, swift and deadly.

After the hacking incident broke out, Ben Zhou wrote on the social platform: "We will keep you updated on the latest developments of the incident. If any team can help us track the stolen funds, we will be grateful."

It is at this moment that we see the unprecedented unity in the crypto industry.

This morning, Bitget supported Bybit with a loan of 40,000 ETH (about 105.9 million US dollars) to survive the withdrawal wave after the ETH was stolen. These ETH were directly transferred from Bitget to the Bybit cold wallet address.

MEXC transferred 12,600 stETH to the Bybit hot wallet, worth about 33.75 million US dollars.

ABCDE co-founder Du Jun posted on the X platform, "I will also recharge 10,000 ETH to Bybit today, and I will not withdraw it within a month."

This scene is quite similar to the plot in traditional martial arts novels where heroes seek help in difficult situations.

In times of crisis, the heroes in the arena will put aside their grievances and unite to fight against evil forces.

And this time, it was the heroes of the crypto industry who stood up and fought against the dark forces in the cyber world with great courage and wisdom.

In this storm, Bybit is not fighting alone. Supporters of the same industry have joined the battle to help track the stolen funds and prevent hackers from continuing to destroy the industry.

When the entire crypto industry faces external risks and challenges, it can rely on the collaboration and resource integration of important players in the industry to form a solid "moat".

This moat is not only a technical defense line, but also a consensus and cooperation mechanism within the industry.

Under the protection of this moat, whether it is hacker attacks, cyclical fluctuations, or external political and technological wars, they can all be effectively resisted.

Of course, there are also people who are fighting among themselves, and more "ridiculing" who is the real friend.

Security expert Yu Xian said it very well, don't fight among yourself, don't forget who our common enemy is.

As the traditional martial arts world teaches us: Only with unity can we resist foreign enemies; only with trust can we find light in the darkness.

This Bybit incident may be just the beginning. With the popularization and development of blockchain technology, security threats will become more and more complex and more difficult to predict.

But as long as each of us can be like these "knights" today when facing a crisis.

Let go of prejudices, the future of Web3 is still bright.

Fuck those hackers!