DefiLlama: Bybit experienced a “bank run” of over $4B after the ~$1.5B hack, leading to a ~$5.5B total outflow; CEO says “about 50%” of funds were withdrawn
Major cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has seen total outflows of over $5.5 billion after it suffered …
CoinDeskFrancisco Rodrigues
Context & Ripple Effects
The withdrawal wave followed the reported compromise of a Bybit cold ETH wallet, initially associated with $1.46 billion in suspicious outflows. It turns a security breach into an immediate test of whether an exchange can meet customer redemptions at scale.
The episode resembles the withdrawal pressure Binance faced after its founder’s guilty plea, when DefiLlama recorded $1 billion of outflows in 24 hours. Bybit’s much larger loss makes the connection between custody security and user confidence especially acute.
First-order effects
Bybit must process an exceptional volume of withdrawals while managing the liquidity impact of roughly $5.5 billion in total outflows.
Customers face a direct reassessment of funds held on Bybit after the hack and the CEO’s statement that about half of funds were withdrawn.
Second-order effects
Rival exchanges are likely to face sharper scrutiny of wallet security, reserves and withdrawal operations as users compare their ability to withstand a similar shock.
The withdrawal surge raises the operational value of readily available crypto liquidity: subsequent coverage reported Bybit borrowing ether from industry peers to help process customer requests.
Third-order effects
If such episodes recur, centralized exchanges will be judged not only on trading features but on their capacity to preserve custody confidence and honor redemptions during a security crisis.
Public on-chain flow data can make confidence shocks more self-reinforcing: visible outflows may accelerate customer withdrawals before an exchange’s operational response is fully evident.
The trend: Large exchange hacks are increasingly becoming liquidity-and-confidence events, where the response to customer withdrawals matters alongside the initial loss.
Some thoughts on the recent hack(s). There is a pattern where hackers were able to steal large amounts of crypto from multi-sig “cold storage” solutions, as with ByBit, Phemex, WazirX and potentially others. In the most recent ByBit case, the hackers were able to make the
Since the hack (10 hrs ago) , Bybit has experienced the most number of withdraws that we have ever seen, We have had a total number of more than 350k withdraws requests, so far, around 2100 withdraw requests left to be processed. Overall 99. 994% withdraws have been completed. …
Bybit experienced a major bank run after the $1.4 billion heist, with “about 50%” of users' funds being withdrawn, according to CEO @benbybit. However, it survived it despite a major liquidity crunch @FranciscoMemor reports https://www.coindesk.com/...
Bybit is overwhelmed by all the support that we got from partners and industry friends during last night critical time. Here I want to say thanks to all the friends, partners who offered or helped us in any way or form. I am truly grateful. We will need a lot more help down the
I do agree with CZ that if this hack was conducted through penetrating our internal systems such as any part of the withdraw system or one of our hot wallet was breached, we would've halted all withdraws until we find the root cause of the problem. In the case of yesterday, it
If a bank were to be hacked for $1.4 billion: - Freeze withdrawals - Inform government - Set up an inquiry commission - years of investigation - Customers standing in queue - Branches closed - Competitors getting an advantage Bybit exchange hacked $1.4 billion. - CEO came live
5/ Crypto industry unites to aid ByBit - Binance and Bitget deposited over 50,000 ETH into Bybit's cold wallets. - A whale transferred 20,000 ETH to Bybit's cold wallet. - DWF Labs has not requested any withdrawal from Bybit and is willing to provide #ETH if required. - The MEXC …