Big Crypto Robbery: How $1.4 Billion Disappeared in a Flash
In February 2025, something shocking happened in the world of digital money, called cryptocurrency. A big crypto exchange called Bybit lost $1.4 billion in just one go! This was the biggest hack ever, and it showed that even the safest places can be broken into.
How the Robbery Happened
You might think that money kept in a safe called a “cold wallet” would be safe, but these hackers were really clever. They tricked the system by showing the right wallet address while changing the rules of a smart contract. This let them steal 401,347 ether and other digital money worth over $1.4 billion without setting off any alarms[1][3].
What Happened to the Market
The news of the robbery made the price of ether drop from $2,823 to $2,685. People were worried about the safety of their digital money. But Bybit said they would cover any losses from their own money[3]. This robbery was just one of many that happened in 2024, with over $1.49 billion lost in total[1].
How the Money Was Cleaned
The hackers were so good that they managed to clean, or hide, all the stolen money in just 10 days! Usually, cleaning stolen cryptocurrency means turning it into normal money, like dollars or euros, using different ways. The speed of this cleaning shows how smart and well-planned these hackers were.
What We Can Learn
This big robbery teaches us that we need to be really careful with our digital money. We should use strong security measures, like having more than one person approve important actions, and use our own wallets instead of keeping our money with an exchange. As the crypto world grows, so do the tricks used by hackers. We need better rules and ways to work together to stop these bad guys[5].
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