The cryptocurrency sector suffered staggering losses in February, with scams, exploits, and hacks totaling practically $1.53 billion, based on blockchain safety agency CertiK. The majority of those losses stemmed from the $1.4 billion assault on Bybit, marking the biggest crypto heist in historical past.
On February 21, hackers focused crypto alternate Bybit, reportedly seizing management of a storage pockets. CertiK attributed the assault to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, the identical entity answerable for the $650 million Ronin Bridge hack in March 2022.
The FBI later confirmed that North Korean operatives have been behind the Bybit breach and had begun dispersing the stolen funds throughout hundreds of blockchain addresses.
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Bybit Hack Drives Crypto Losses Up 1,500% in February
The huge Bybit exploit considerably skewed the general loss figures for February. In comparison with January, when losses stood at $98 million, February’s determine represents an almost 1,500% enhance.
Even when excluding Bybit’s losses, crypto hacks and scams final month nonetheless reached $126 million, a 28.5% rise from the earlier month.
The second-largest hack of the month focused Infini, a stablecoin fee agency, ensuing within the theft of $49 million on February 24.
CertiK’s investigation revealed {that a} key pockets used within the exploit had prior involvement in creating Infini’s good contracts. The attacker retained admin privileges, permitting them to redeem all Vault tokens.
“The exploit highlights a significant vulnerability, demonstrating how admin privileges can change into a single level of failure,” CertiK said in its February 27 report. The agency harassed the significance of securing non-public keys to forestall related assaults.
#CertiKStatsAlert
Combining all of the incidents in February, we’ve confirmed ~$1.5B misplaced to exploits, hacks and scams.
The Bybit incident is the biggest we now have recorded because the Ronin Bridge exploit in 2022 which was additionally performed by Lazarus.
Extra particulars under
pic.twitter.com/n1fv9x0YNh
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2025
Following the assault, Infini’s staff tried to barter with the hacker, providing them 20% of the stolen funds in alternate for returning the rest and avoiding authorized penalties.
Nevertheless, the 48-hour deadline has lengthy handed, and as of the most recent knowledge from Etherscan, the hacker’s pockets nonetheless holds over 17,000 Ether, valued at roughly $43 million.
The third-largest exploit of the month concerned decentralized lending protocol ZkLend, which misplaced $10 million to hackers on February 12.
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Rising Safety Threats within the Crypto Area
CertiK recognized pockets compromises because the main reason behind crypto losses in February, adopted by code vulnerabilities, which resulted in $20 million in losses, and phishing scams, which accounted for $1.8 million.
Whereas crypto hacks had been on a downward development towards the top of 2024, February’s huge Bybit assault has reignited issues over safety vulnerabilities.
December had beforehand recorded the bottom month-to-month losses of the yr at $28.6 million, down from $63.8 million in November and $115.8 million in October. Nevertheless, with the rise in subtle cyber threats, consultants warn that 2025 may see a resurgence in large-scale crypto exploits.
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Key Takeaways
Crypto losses surged in February, reaching $1.53 billion, largely as a result of $1.4 billion Bybit hack.
North Korea’s Lazarus Group was behind the Bybit breach, with stolen funds being dispersed throughout a number of blockchain addresses.
Safety vulnerabilities stay a significant concern, with pockets compromises and admin privilege exploits driving losses.
The publish Crypto Losses Hit $1.53B In February, Pushed By $1.4B Bybit Hack: CertiK appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
