Bybit Launches Bounty Campaign to Fight Lazarus Group After Major Hack!

Jakarta, Pintu News – On February 21, 2025, Bybit, one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges, fell victim to a hack that caused more than $1.4 billion (Rp22.85 trillion) in crypto assets to be lost. In response to this incident, Bybit’s CEO and co-founder Ben Zhou announced serious measures to hunt down the hackers suspected to be from the Lazarus group, which is affiliated with North Korea.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on February 25, 2025, Zhou invited users to support the “fight against Lazarus” and offered a large reward for those who managed to freeze the stolen funds.

Quick Action by Bybit to Address Hacking

Following the major hacking incident on February 21, where the Lazarus group managed to steal a large amount of cryptocurrency, including staked Ether (STETH) and other ERC-20 tokens, Bybit responded immediately by launching a dedicated website. On this site, Bybit is offering a reward of up to 5% of the amount of funds successfully frozen, with a possible reward of up to 10% if the attempt is successful. With such a huge value, the potential reward could reach $140 million (approximately Rp2.28 trillion).

Ben Zhou revealed that they have assigned a dedicated team to monitor and update this website regularly, with a promise not to stop until Lazarus groups or other bad actors can be eliminated from the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, Zhou added that they also plan to open up the same opportunity for other victims affected by similar criminal acts in the future.

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Huge Losses and Impact on the Crypto Industry

Bybit’s hack is the largest in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. Previously, in 2022, the Ronin Bridge hack recorded a loss of around $600 million (IDR 9.8 trillion), which now appears to be outweighed by the losses incurred by the Lazarus attack. This shows the increasing potential threats faced by cryptocurrency platforms, especially from hacker groups affiliated with certain countries, such as North Korea.

According to data from blockchain security firm PeckShield, more than $3 billion was stolen through crypto hacks and scams in 2024, with phishing attacks being the most costly. Although the number of hacks has decreased since 2022, these major attacks prove that the threat to the crypto ecosystem is still huge and growing.

Why is the Lazarus Group being targeted?

The Lazarus group, which has known ties to the North Korean government, has long been involved in various major hacks targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and other organizations. Between 2017 and 2023, they reportedly stole more than $3 billion in cryptocurrencies from various sources. Therefore, the attack on Bybit was not a surprise to many who follow the dynamics of the crypto world.

With more and more attacks being carried out by these groups, many have begun to worry about the increasing threat level directed at crypto exchanges. Therefore, the decisive action taken by Bybit, such as launching this bounty program, shows an effort to not only recover lost funds, but also to have a deterrent effect on hacker groups that damage the crypto ecosystem.

Conclusion

This major hacking incident involving Bybit and the Lazarus group shows how vulnerable the cryptocurrency ecosystem is to threats from bad actors. Although exchanges like Bybit are trying hard to recover the lost funds, a huge challenge still exists to maintain security and fight against future hacks. Measures taken, such as bounty campaigns, can be an effective strategy to counter hacker groups, but crypto security remains a top priority for all players in the industry.

Also Read: 3 Factors Causing the 50% Drop in Solana (SOL) Price from All-Time Highs

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This content aims to enrich readers’ information. Pintu collects this information from various relevant sources and is not influenced by outside parties. Note that an asset’s past performance does not determine its projected future performance. Trading crypto carries high risk and volatility, always do your own research and use cold hard cash before investing. All activities of buying andselling Bitcoin and other crypto asset investments are the responsibility of the reader.

Reference:

• Cointelegraph.“Bybit Launches Lazarus Group Bounty War After Hack.” Accessed February 26, 2025.
• Featured Image: Generated by Ai