Analysis: Bybit’s Bitcoin liquidity has returned to pre-hacker levels

Mars Finance News, on May 7th, according to Kaiko's Wednesday report, Bitcoin liquidity on the Bybit platform has rebounded to February levels, following a hack where hackers stole Ethereum worth $1.5 billion through a multi-signature theft. Bybit was subjected to a carefully planned attack, with the attackers believed to be the notorious North Korea-sponsored criminal organization Lazarus Group. On February 21, 2025, the attackers tricked Bybit cold wallet signers into authorizing a malicious transaction, stealing over 400,000 Ethereum. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that after the attack, the platform experienced over 350,000 withdrawal requests, with users withdrawing assets and normal market activity decreasing. This incident placed further pressure on Bybit and the entire crypto market, following the tariff plan proposed by the US in January that triggered a global trade war. However, one month later, Bybit's Bitcoin liquidity had returned to pre-hack levels. Kaiko researchers wrote: "Despite the dramatic changes in US trade policy creating a challenging Bitcoin market environment, Bybit's 1% market depth fully recovered within just 30 days after the hack." Market depth refers to a platform's ability to process large buy and sell orders without causing significant price fluctuations. The greater the market depth, the more trading activity the exchange's order book can absorb.