Shocking Twist: Bybit Hacker Becomes ETH’s 14th-Largest Holder! 😱💰

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What to know:

  • Ether has decided to trade 2% higher, as if it were on a rollercoaster, with the hacked ETH now a ghostly memory. 👻
  • Bybit might just need to go shopping for some ETH, or so one astute observer noted. 🛒

Ah, the Bybit hacker, a shadowy figure rumored to be from North Korea, has emerged as one of the largest ether holders in the world. Who knew that a little hacking could lead to such bullish implications for the cryptocurrency’s spot price? Talk about a plot twist! 🎭

According to the ever-watchful Arkham Intelligence and the insightful Coinbase executive Connor Grogan, this nefarious character holds a staggering 489,000 ETH, worth around $1.34 billion. That’s about 0.4% of ether’s total supply! Yes, you heard it right, this hacker is now the 14th-largest Ether holder globally, surpassing even the Ethereum Foundation, the illustrious Vitalik Buterin, and Fidelity. What a time to be alive! 🥳

But wait, there’s more! The addresses linked to this entity are under the watchful eyes of exchanges, like a hawk eyeing its prey. This means our hacker friend will likely have a tough time offloading these coins. Good luck with that! 😏

In layman’s terms, the hacked ether supply is likely lost forever, like socks in a dryer. Furthermore, Bybit, which has reportedly secured a bridged loan from some mysterious partners to cover nearly 80% of the ether lost in the Friday hack, will probably need to hit the market for more coins. 🤑

“As far as this supply is concerned, it’s essentially gone. No OTC desk or exchange will facilitate the movement of such a large amount. Meanwhile, Bybit is short 402k ETH. The bridge loan may cover immediate needs, but purchasing will still be necessary,” said Vance Spencer, co-founder of the crypto VC firm Framework Ventures, on X. Sounds like a real nail-biter! 😬

And that probably explains why ether has bounced 2.6% to $2,730 from the overnight low of around $2,614. Funding rates in perpetual futures tied to ether remain positive, implying a bias for long positions, according to the data source Coingecko. Who knew the crypto world could be so dramatic? 🎢

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2025-02-22 16:30