The $1.5B Bybit Hack Could Paradoxically Boost the Best Meme Coins in 2025 and Beyond

Despite the initial whiplash effect, the $1.5B Bybit hack could paradoxically boost the best meme coins in 2025 and beyond. Let's dig into it.

The North Korean hacking group Lazarus managed to steal approximately $1.5B worth of Ethereum on February 21, 2025, from the Bybit hot wallet. Despite the initial whiplash effect, the $1.5B Bybit hack could paradoxically boost the best meme coins in 2025 and beyond. Let’s dig into it.

Evidence Emerges of Bybit Hack’s Sophistication

After the hack, researchers at چین چین安链 and Slowmist began investigating the incident and uncovered evidence suggesting that the hackers used malware to display a fake UI to all signers.

This could’ve only been achieved if the bad actors somehow infected each multisig signer’s device, suggesting that the hack was more complex than initially thought.

The conclusion was that, in this particular case, the weakest link was probably the human element rather than Bybit’s security profile.

Crypto Market Crashes After Hackers Launder All Stolen 499K ETH

So, why is crypto so down today, so long after the hack? According to EmberCN, the hackers managed to launder the entire $1.4B (499,000 ETH), causing ETH’s price to drop 23% following the event.

Today, Bitcoin’s chart tells a sad story after falling to below 83K. Indeed, the whole crypto market seems to have collapsed, with even the best altcoins joining the bear movement.

DeFi Exchanges Come Under Fire

The Bybit hack didn’t impact cryptos alone. DEFI exchanges suffered, too. Chainflip, in particular, as the hackers began funneling the stolen assets through its platform mere hours after the breach.

Chainflip, to its credit, identified the suspicious activity and took action immediately.

The hackers also used THORChain, another high-profile DEFI service, to swap over $742M shortly after the event. Unlike Chainflip, which has a central authority, Thorchain is regulated by a network of validators, making it more difficult to implement any time-sensitive measures.

The THORChain network recorded massive trading volumes following the hack, reaching an all-time record of $859.61M on February 26. This caused $RUNE, the official THORChain token, to surge by up to 33% between February 21 and February 26.

In the spirit of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’, both Chainflip and THORChain were heavily criticized by the community for how they handled things.

Chainflip took the most heat, with many arguing that disabling swaps goes against the platform’s commitment to decentralization. At the opposite poll is THORChain, criticized for not taking action.

So, where does this leave us? The crypto market is slowly recovering, but it’s still not out of the bear-infested woods.

Even so, some see this as the best time to invest in new crypto projects in preparation for the next bull run. Especially, given the SEC’s upcoming series of roundtables on crypto security and regulation could turn the trend around.

The following are some of the most promising meme coins to buy while the market is down.

1. BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) – Supporting Bitcoin to a $1M

BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) is a meme project that supports Bitcoin. The ongoing presale has raised over $3.1M with a token price of $0.00239.

BTC Bull has several mechanisms to support its long-term development:

Stakes also enjoy a 135% APY with a dynamic reward rate (the more stakes there are, and the higher their contribution to the pool, the greater the rewards).

This project shows promise as it rewards hodlers specifically and evaluates alongside Bitcoin.

The tokenomics data looks solid, and the project’s whitepaper does a good job of detailing the BTC Bull vision.

2. MIND of Pepe ($MIND) – The AI Agent Driving the Crypto Conversation

MIND of Pepe ($MIND) is an advanced AI entity designed to spur on the crypto conversation and mine the chatter for trading cues.

The self-evolving and self-sovereign AI agent interacts with people on X and Telegram and offers predictions and insights into the most promising crypto trends.

The roadmap hints at great things to come, with the final stage allowing MIND of Pepe to create and advertise its own tokens. $MIND holders will gain early access to these projects so that they can tune in early to maximize their profits.

The presale has raised over $7M with a $MIND valued at $0.0034402. MIND of Pepe currently rewards stakers with a 321% APY and a dynamic reward rate