Bybit Labs suffered a massive security breach, losing $1.5 billion in ETH

On February 21, Bybit Labs suffered a massive security breach, losing $1.5 billion in ETH. The incident tested the team's resilience and leadership quality and raised the bar for crisis response in the crypto space. By February 24, the cryptocurrency exchange had replenished its reserves via 447,000 ETH in emergency funding from companies such as FalconX, Galaxy Digital, and Wintermute, a market maker that itself suffered a significant hack in 2022. Wintermute lost $160 million in this hack and admirably recovered from it.

A massive security breach hit Bybit on February 21, resulting in the loss of 1.5 billion in ETH. The incident tested the team's resilience and leadership quality and raised the bar for crisis response in the crypto space.

However, Bybit managed to replenish its reserves within three days with the help of emergency funding from five companies.

The cryptocurrency exchange received 447,000 ETH in contributions from FalconX, Galaxy Digital, and Wintermute, among others, to cover the stolen funds by February 24.

Of the five companies that provided funding, four were cryptocurrency market makers, namely Apixio Technologies, BCB Group, Flow Traders, and Kairon Labs.

The remaining company, a trading firm, was Wintermute, which itself suffered a significant hack in 2022 and recovered admirably. The bank holding the largest portion of the funding was Apixio Technologies.

"We had a goal to return user assets within 72 hours, and we managed to achieve it. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us in this endeavor," said Bybit in a statement.

The exchange's swift response to the hack is a stark contrast to the silence that often engulfs such incidents in the crypto space.

While many platforms prefer to ignore or downplay such breaches, Bybit's decision to immediately address the matter and collect the necessary funds sets an example for the industry.

"It is noteworthy that crypto market makers should uphold the same standards. In the instance of a hack on a major exchange, market makers can play a crucial role in stabilizing token prices, providing liquidity for recovery efforts, and ultimately helping to maintain listings and market access," added Bybit.

According to the exchange, the hack was attributed to Lazarus Group from North Korea, a pervasive and well-organized cybercrime group, despite the exchange's strict security protocols.

Some attacks are inevitable, and the response of the parties on the receiving end is paramount.

If a hack causes panic selling and subsequent price crashes, a market maker might step in to stabilize the market, either voluntarily or under agreement with the platform. This helps preserve investor confidence and prevents total liquidity wipeout.

Sometimes, platforms negotiate with market makers to assist with recovery efforts, like issuing new tokens or holding community compensation rounds.

Market makers help keep tokens liquid on exchanges if a project is hacked but continues operating.

Large, well-regulated crypto exchanges will likely require an issuer to transfer significant amounts of a token to market makers to serve as insurance against rug pulls and ensure liquidity in the market. This will prevent the price from skyrocketing due to poor liquidity, among other risks.

If a leading exchange like Coinbase or Binance were to list a coin, its price would surge, and without liquidity from market makers, the spreads would be excessive. Market makers help stabilize the price until holders and farmers can move the assets to the exchange and circulate them.

Conscientious market makers keep the crypto market functioning properly so that exchanges, project owners, and investors can operate as intended.

However, not all crypto market makers are ethical, and their behavior has consequences.

Recently, Binance took punitive measures against a platform involved in one-sided market making, which is against the exchange's rules. The market maker had made a profit of $38 million from Movement's MOVE coin, and Binance froze all proceeds to compensate users.

Market makers need an in-depth understanding of market rules, trading strategies, liquidity, and traders' behavioral patterns before launching. They must be able to capture the tendencies and opportunities in the market to gain an edge.

This process starts with researching historical and current trading data to understand the market and its inherent volatility. They can obtain market data through trading software or data providers, by communicating with other traders at trading conferences or webinars, etc.

They must also keep abreast of events and news that could impact the market, such as company reports, macroeconomic data, political events, etc.

They need a stable, efficient technological platform to support real-time data and trading analysis. It must have algorithms for secure trade settlement, instant trade execution, and high-speed data transfer and processing.

Finally, market makers require substantial capital to support trading activities and must identify its source and amount before they enter the market.

Most risks market makers face are blockchain-related. If the smart contracts are hacked, the platform could lose its assets.

Market makers may need to participate in dApps or on-chain protocols to provide liquidity, where on-chain risks like low transaction speed, a fork in an L1 blockchain where the protocol sits, etc., are transferred to each party involved.

Market makers must enforce strict rules to mitigate risks, but they are not responsible for hacks suffered by other parties, like exchanges. They will not recover stolen funds, patch vulnerabilities, stop ongoing attacks, or reimburse users.

Unless contractually agreed, they have no obligation to intervene.