Crypto markets signal resilience despite Bybit worrisome hack

Every market will inevitably face challenges, and crypto is no exception. However, a key sign of maturity is how the market reacts to negative events. The recent Bybit hack, which occurred late last week, is a case in point—while significant, it did not trigger widespread panic.

Thus, we can point out two potential positive takeaways:

1) As shown in the chart, ETH prices (and the broader crypto market) experienced limited impact and have already rebounded, surpassing pre-incident levels.

2) Allegedly (pending audit confirmation), the exchange replenished its ETH reserves after a $1.4 billion exploit.

Market Highlights

Bybit suffered the largest crypto hack in history

On February 21, a hacker stole $1.4 billion from Bybit, after accessing an Ethereum cold wallet and exploiting their flawed security practices.

The exchange claims to have filled the gap in its ETH reserves after the incident.

Despite the events, market impact was relatively minor compared to past events like BOJ hikes, which suggests a growing market maturity when it comes to short-term shocks.

Digital ledgers to settle transactions in ECB

The European Central Bank is planning to establish a system to use a digital ledger-based system to settle transactions in their database.

This could signal a significant institutional use case for blockchain technology, marking another step towards broader institutional adoption.

SEC new unit to protect against fraud in crypto

SEC announced the creation of a new unit aimed at protecting investors from frauds related to crypto and AI.

This once again underscores the new administration’s focus on advancing security and regulatory developments in the crypto industry, potentially serving as another strong tailwind for future adoption.

Market Metrics

The NCITM had another sideways week (-1.3%), with strong headwinds like the Bybit exploit widening the gap between NCITM and other asset classes. Given this month’s challenges and ongoing regulatory developments, this movement was largely expected. However, as we’ve noted in previous insights, these long-term developments could become a strong catalyst for crypto performance in 2025.