{"id":49082,"date":"2025-03-03T08:17:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T08:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=49082"},"modified":"2025-03-03T08:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T08:17:36","slug":"crypto-losses-hit-1-53b-in-february-driven-by-1-4b-bybit-hack-certik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=49082","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Losses Hit $1.53B In February, Driven By $1.4B Bybit Hack: CertiK"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cryptocurrency sector suffered staggering losses in February, with scams, exploits, and hacks totaling nearly $1.53 billion, according to <\/span>blockchain security firm CertiK<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>The bulk<\/span> of these losses stemmed from the $1.4 billion attack on Bybit, marking the largest crypto heist in history.<\/span><\/p>\n

On February 21, hackers targeted crypto exchange Bybit, reportedly seizing control of a storage wallet. CertiK attributed the attack to North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group, the same entity responsible for the $650 million Ronin Bridge hack in March 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI later confirmed that North Korean operatives were behind the Bybit breach and had begun dispersing the stolen funds across thousands of blockchain addresses.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bybit Hack Drives Crypto Losses Up 1,500% in <\/span>February<\/span><\/h2>\n

The massive Bybit exploit significantly skewed the overall loss figures for February. Compared to January, when losses stood at $98 million, February\u2019s figure represents a nearly 1,500% increase. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even <\/span>when<\/span> excluding Bybit\u2019s losses, crypto hacks and scams last month still reached $126 million, a 28.5% rise from the previous month.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second-largest hack of the month targeted Infini, a stablecoin payment firm, resulting in the theft of $49 million on February 24. <\/span><\/p>\n

CertiK\u2019s investigation revealed that a key wallet used in the exploit had prior involvement in developing Infini\u2019s smart contracts. The attacker retained admin privileges, allowing them to redeem all Vault tokens.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe exploit highlights a major vulnerability, demonstrating how admin privileges can become a single point of failure,\u201d CertiK stated in its February 27 report. The firm stressed the importance of securing private keys to prevent similar attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

#CertiKStatsAlert<\/a> <\/p>\n

Combining all the incidents in February, we\u2019ve confirmed ~$1.5B lost to exploits, hacks and scams.<\/p>\n

The Bybit incident is the largest we have recorded since the Ronin Bridge exploit in 2022 which was also conducted by Lazarus.<\/p>\n

More details below pic.twitter.com\/n1fv9x0YNh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Following the attack, Infini\u2019s team attempted to negotiate with the hacker, offering them 20% of the stolen funds in exchange for returning the remainder and avoiding legal consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the 48-hour deadline has <\/span>long<\/span> passed, and as of the latest data from Etherscan, the hacker\u2019s wallet still holds over 17,000 Ether, valued at approximately $43 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third-largest exploit of the month involved <\/span>decentralized<\/span> lending protocol ZkLend, which lost $10 million to hackers on February 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rising Security Threats in the Crypto Space<\/span><\/h2>\n

CertiK identified wallet compromises as the leading cause of crypto losses in February, followed by code vulnerabilities, which resulted in $20 million in losses, and phishing scams, which accounted for $1.8 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

While crypto hacks had been on a downward trend toward the end of 2024, February\u2019s massive Bybit attack has reignited concerns over security vulnerabilities. <\/span><\/p>\n

December had previously recorded the lowest monthly losses of the year at $28.6 million, down from $63.8 million in November and $115.8 million in October. However, with the rise in sophisticated cyber threats, experts warn that 2025 could see a resurgence in large-scale crypto exploits.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n

Crypto losses surged in February, reaching $1.53 billion, largely due to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack.<\/span> <\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group was behind the Bybit breach, with stolen funds <\/span>being<\/span> dispersed across multiple blockchain addresses.<\/span> <\/p>\n

Security vulnerabilities remain a major concern, with wallet compromises and admin privilege exploits driving losses.<\/span> <\/p><\/div>\n

The post Crypto Losses Hit $1.53B In February, Driven By $1.4B Bybit Hack: CertiK<\/a> appeared first on 99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cryptocurrency sector suffered staggering losses in February, with scams, exploits, and hacks totaling nearly $1.53 billion, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. The bulk of these losses stemmed from the $1.4 billion attack on Bybit, marking the largest crypto heist in history. On February 21, hackers targeted crypto exchange Bybit, reportedly seizing control of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}