Ether prices surge as Bybit recovers from $1.5 billion hack, with analysts questioning the hacker’s ability to use stolen funds.
The price of ether (ETH) has increased by more than 2.3% in the last 24 hours, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index has risen by just 0.76% during the same period. ‘The price of ether (ETH) has increased by more than 2.3% in the last 24 hours, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index has risen by just 0.76% during the same period.’ Bitcoin is down around 0.3%.
Ether is a cryptocurrency token issued by the Ethereum network.
It's used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the platform.
The total supply of ether is capped at 72 million, making it a scarce digital asset.
In addition to its use as a medium of exchange, ether also has a utility value as a programming language for building decentralized applications.
As of 2022, the market capitalization of ether is over '$200 billion.'
Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange that was hacked for $1.5 billion worth of ether (ETH) and staked ether (ETH) by North Korean hacking group Lazarus, has taken steps to recover its losses. ‘The price of ether (ETH) has increased by more than 2.3% in the last 24 hours, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index has risen by just 0.76% during the same period.’ According to reports, the company has moved 100 million USDT into new addresses and used half of it to purchase 36,900 ETH over-the-counter. The funds, worth around $101 million, were then transferred to addresses tagged as belonging to the cryptocurrency exchange.
Bybit‘s CEO Ben Zhou stated that the company’s assets are ‘far greater than $1.5 billion,’ adding that there is a cold wallet in safe with nearly 3 billion USDT. The hacker behind the Bybit hack now holds an estimated 489,000 ETH valued at approximately $1.34 billion, which makes up around 0.4% of ether’s total supply and ranks it as the 14th-largest holder of the cryptocurrency.
The addresses associated with the hacker are closely monitored in the space and are blacklisted by major cryptocurrency exchanges. As a result, any attempt to transfer these funds to a major exchange would result in an immediate block. ‘The stolen funds have already been marked, making it extremely difficult for the hacker to use them,’ StealthEX CEO Maria Carola told CoinDesk.
Some analysts suggest that since the hacker may not be able to use the funds in any way, the 0.4% of the ETH supply it holds is essentially gone.
