Big Crypto Robbery: How Hackers Stole $1.4 Billion and Cleaned It Fast!
Imagine this: You’re a crypto fan, and you’ve put your money in a safe place, a big exchange called Bybit. But one day, BAM! Someone sneaks in and takes away $1.4 billion! That’s what happened in February 2025. It’s like the biggest robbery in the crypto world, ever!
How Did They Do It?
Bybit uses something called a ‘cold wallet’ to keep crypto safe. It’s like a super-secure vault. But the hackers found a way to trick the system. They made the wallet show the right address while changing the rules behind the scenes. So, they could take the money without setting off alarms!
The hackers stole 401,347 ether, which is like a type of digital gold, and other Ethereum-based tokens. All together, it was over $1.4 billion![1][3]
What Happened Next?
The news of the hack made Ethereum’s price drop from $2,823 to $2,685. People were worried about their money.[1] But Bybit said they’d cover any losses from their own money.[3]
This hack wasn’t the only one. In 2024, people lost over $1.49 billion to hacks![1]
How Did They Clean the Money?
You might think cleaning $1.4 billion would take a long time. But no! The hackers did it in just 10 days![1] They probably used tricks like changing the money into different types of crypto or using special services to hide where the money came from.
What Can We Learn?
This hack shows us that even the safest places can be broken into. So, we need to be careful and use strong security. It also shows that we need rules and people working together to stop bad guys from using crypto for bad things.[5]
Remember, the crypto world is like the Wild West. It’s full of adventure, but we need to be smart and stay safe!
Sources: Fintech Weekly, NetSource One, Morningstar, Lizedin, S&P Global