In the aftermath of the massive $1.5 billion hack on Bybit, cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers have united to freeze $42.85 million in stolen funds linked to the exploit. This rapid, collaborative effort aims to recover stolen digital assets and block further movement of the funds.
Bybit, which suffered a security breach on February 21, 2025, confirmed the coordinated effort to freeze nearly $43 million, just two days after the hack. Decentralized exchange THORChain was among those to blacklist several addresses associated with the North Korean hacking syndicate, and other exchanges, including Coinex and ChangeNow, contributed by freezing funds and providing crucial information.
In addition, Avalanche restricted access to approximately $37,000 in Bitcoin, while FixedFloat froze 120,000 in USDC and USDT stablecoins. Other platforms, such as Bitget, followed suit, ensuring that funds linked to the hack could not be withdrawn or transferred.
Stablecoin giants Tether and Circle have also joined in by flagging and freezing assets tied to the hack, with Tether blocking 181,000 USDT. Bybit expressed appreciation for the swift responses, highlighting the collaboration between exchanges and stablecoin issuers in curbing the theft.
Despite these efforts, hacker groups, including the Lazarus Group, remain active. The group has been bridging assets to Solana and using fraudulent KYC data to deposit funds onto exchanges. Bybit has issued a warning to its users, urging them to be cautious of scams and reminding them that the exchange will never ask for personal information or passwords.
As law enforcement agencies and exchanges work together to track down the perpetrators, some within the Ethereum community are even considering a blockchain rollback to counter the attackers’ actions.
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