North Korea is behind the massive crypto hack, according to several blockchain monitoring firms and a well-known researcher

The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has fallen victim to an attack resulting in the theft of digital assets valued at $1.5 billion. Experts estimate this to be the largest theft in the history of this sector.

Bybit is a well-known cryptocurrency exchange with more than 60 million users. It’s regularly ranked among the top five cryptocurrency exchanges online by volume. The hack was disclosed on Feb. 21. The company said an attacker gained control of an Ethereum wallet and transferred the holdings in the wallet to an unknown address.

Bybit’s $1.4 billion hack, the largest in crypto history, might have unexpected implications for Ethereum. As the exchange moves to recover, could this be a bullish catalyst for ETH?

Bybit has returned to a 1:1 backing of client assets and has fully closed the “ETH gap” it faced after an unprecedented $1.4 billion hack hit the exchange. Address activity suggests more than $400 million were purchased through over-the-counter trading, with another $300 million brought directly from exchanges.

Ben Zhou, Bybit's CEO, said that the hack had affected around 401,000 Ethereum and sparked a surge in withdrawal requests.