Dubai: Hackers attacked cryptocurrency exchange ‘Bybit’ and stole a whopping $1.5 billion, which is being described as the biggest digital theft in history.
According to the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’, hackers took control of Bybit’s Ethereum wallet and transferred all the cryptocurrency to an anonymous address.
Bybit says that the attack occurred when the company was routinely transferring funds from a ‘cold’ wallet to a ‘warm’ wallet, which is part of daily trading.
After the hacker attack, Bybit CEO Ben Zhu assured that even if the company could not recover the stolen crypto, users’ money would be safe and they would be paid in full. He said that the company has reserves of $20 billion, from which all user funds can be paid.
Bybit has appealed to cybersecurity experts for help and announced that 10 percent of the amount recovered will be given as a reward, while if someone manages to get all the funds back, they will be given $140 million as a reward.
Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with more than 60 million users. Since the incident, the company has received requests to withdraw funds from more than 3.5 million users, which is causing transaction delays.
