Market Turmoil: Crypto Prices Plunge Amid Bybit Security Incident
On Friday, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant decline, reversing earlier gains as reports surfaced regarding a potential security breach at the crypto exchange Bybit. In a shocking turn of events, approximately $1.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency was reported to be flowing out of the platform.
As a result, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a drop, hovering around $97,000 after previously trading close to the $100,000 mark earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) faced a nearly 4% decline, falling below the $2,700 threshold. This sudden downturn prompted a wave of liquidations in the market, with nearly $100 million worth of leveraged derivatives trading positions being wiped out, primarily affecting long positions that were betting on a price increase, according to data from CoinGlass.
The market’s sharp movement was triggered after renowned blockchain investigator ZachXBT raised concerns about a “suspicious” outflow of $1.4 billion in ETH. Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, later confirmed the incident in a post on X, providing further clarity on the situation.
UPDATE (Feb. 21, 16:07 UTC): This article has been updated to include information regarding the liquidation of positions and the latest price movements.
