Major Crypto Heists: Bybit Leads with $1.4 Billion Ethereum Theft by Lazarus Group
The recent years have seen several major crypto heists, culminating in losses over $10 billion. The largest, occurring in 2025, was the Bybit hack, resulting in a $1.4 billion Ethereum theft, attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group exploiting wallet vulnerabilities. In 2021, Poly Network lost $611 million across blockchains, though most funds were returned, while the BNB Chain incident in 2022 saw an initial $570 million loss mitigated to $100 million through rapid response. Earlier, the 2018 Coincheck hack led to a $530 million NEM token theft. The 2022 Ronin Network breach resulted in $552 million missing, linked similarly to North Korea. Each breach highlighted systemic security flaws and drove advancements in crypto exchange safety measures.
Bearish
The series of high-profile crypto thefts, including Bybit’s significant hack, likely increase distrust in crypto exchanges and emphasize systemic vulnerabilities. Such breaches can lead to regulatory tightening and harm investor sentiment, potentially causing short-term bearish trends. While exchanges may enhance security long-term, the immediate response is caution and skepticism from traders likely impacting the market negatively.