Ether Gains 2.3% as Bybit Allocates $100M for ETH Purchases
Ether (ETH) has surged 2.3% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the broader market, where the CoinDesk 20 Index climbed just 0.76%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 0.3%.
The rally follows reports that Bybit, the crypto exchange recently targeted in a $1.5 billion hack attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, has moved 100 million USDT into new wallets. Blockchain data suggests that 50 million USDT has already been deployed to purchase 36,900 ETH through over-the-counter (OTC) channels.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the acquired ETH—worth approximately $101 million—was later transferred to wallets linked to Bybit, as reported by crypto journalist Colin Wu.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou reassured users during a live Q&A, stating that the platform remains financially strong despite the attack. He emphasized that Bybit’s reserves exceed $1.5 billion and include nearly $3 billion in USDT stored in a secure cold wallet.
Meanwhile, the hacker still holds 489,000 ETH, valued at $1.34 billion, making them the 14th-largest ETH holder. However, these funds are under close scrutiny, with major exchanges blacklisting the associated addresses to prevent liquidation.
“With exchanges flagging and blocking these stolen funds, they are effectively out of circulation, reducing the available ETH supply,” said StealthEX CEO Maria Carola.
Some market analysts believe that the reduced circulating supply is contributing to ETH’s recent price strength, reinforcing the bullish sentiment in the market.
