With the recent Bybit hack that led to a loss of approximately $1. billion. The exchange has clarified the nature of relationship between Bybit and Bitget exchange.
Xie Jiayin, Chinese head of Bitget, has specified that the two exchanges do not share a major stakeholder and have maintained a healthy competition throughout these years. Jiayin, considers his role in assisting the affected exchange during the crisis as that of a “white knight”.
Bitget Offers an ETH loan
Bitget has currently provided a loan of 40,000 ETH to Bybit, which is worth $106 million. According to Xie Jiayin, Bitget has lent this amount to the affected exchange without requiring any collateral, interest rates or any specific commitments, which indicates shear support for the affected exchange.
The affected exchange can return the ETH when there is no longer need of the transferred tokens.
Such support within the industry indicates and highlights the solidarity, where firms are standing next to each other, keeping their competitive interest aside and supporting each other in a moment of crisis.
Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen stated that Bitget was the first firm that had loaned Ether to Bybit and would block transactions from wallets associated with the threat actors.
Bybit CEO expresses gratitude to its White Knights
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou expressed gratitude for the support from various crypto firms and executives that include Bitget, Antalpha Global, Pionex, MEXC, SoSoValue, Galaxy Digital, FalconX, Lido Finance, the Solana Foundation, the Ton Foundation, Ghaf Capital, Fenbushi, Bitvavo and Tether.
Background Check
Bybit is currently addressing the aftermath of the $1.5 billion hack, one of the biggest heist in the world of crypto till date, that targeted its cold wallet , resulting in the theft of approximately 400,000 ETH.
In response, the affected exchange has launched a recovery bounty program offering up to $140 million for information leading to retrieval about 50% of its Ether reserves through partnerships with other exchanges.
The Lazarus Group is believed to be involved in the Bybit hack. Blockchain investor, ZachXBT traced the $ billion theft to this North Korean hacking syndicate, which has a history of targeting crypto exchanges.
The company is expanding its security measures, which also includes blacklisting wallet API to prevent such breaches in the future. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has reassured its clients that the assets are backed one-to-one and that withdrawals remain operational.
The exchange is collaborating with various cryptocurrency firms to freeze stolen assets and mitigate the impact of the hack, aiming to regain user trust and stabilize its operations following this breach.
Also, one thing that kept the community calm during the hack was Bybit’s constant communication with its users through X and other social media platforms. The team made sure that they clarified things to the users before there were any rumors or speculations circling around and creating a situation of FUD.
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