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Bybit hacked, SEC drops Coinbase lawsuit, & more


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Your weekly roundup of the 🔥hottest news in crypto:

Bybit hacked for over $1.4B, SEC drops Coinbase lawsuit, & more

Written by Ciaran Lyons

Feb. 16 - 22

#1

Bybit exchange hacked, over $1.4 billion in ETH-related tokens drained

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has been hacked for over $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether, Mantle Staked ETH and other ERC-20 tokens, according to pseudonymous onchain security analyst ZachXBT, who spotted the incident shortly after it occurred.

Following the exploit, the onchain sleuth warned users to blacklist addresses associated with the hack. Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou confirmed the incident and provided an update on the security breach.

Zhou confirmed that a transfer was made from the exchange's multisignature wallet to a warm wallet approximately one hour prior. The CEO also said the specific transaction was masked to appear legitimate but contained malicious source code designed to alter the smart contract logic of the wallet and siphon funds.

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#2

SEC agrees to drop enforcement case against Coinbase

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against centralized exchange firm Coinbase, which had accused the company of operating as an unregistered securities broker.

According to an announcement from Coinbase, the dismissal is still subject to approval by an SEC commissioner before the suit is officially withdrawn. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said:

"If this goes through, it's a really big deal, not just for us, but for the whole crypto industry, the 50 million Americans who hold crypto, and I think for the rest of the world because this is an important signal about where things are going."

#3

SBF cozies up to Republican Party amid clemency push

Former FTX CEO Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried has spoken out from prison about his political donations, citing a political shift following high-profile contributions during the 2020 United States elections.

In an interview with The New York Sun, SBF said he gave money to the Democratic Party in the 2020 election to prevent the political faction from "becoming the party of Bernie Sanders" — a Democrat senator from Vermont famous for his socialist views.

The former FTX executive briefly outlined his rightward political shift over the last several years. SBF told the interviewer:

"I would say that I viewed myself at the time as sort of center-left. And that is not how I feel myself anymore. It is not how I came to view myself by 2022."

#4 Prediction of the week

XRP price will see $3.20 next if key support level is reclaimed — Analyst

XRP continued to trade sideways between $2.85 and $2.30 even as the US Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged a slew of XRP exchange-traded fund filings. XRP's price rebounded above $2.60, with several analysts highlighting the importance of breaking the $2.75-$2.80 area next.

Egrag Crypto, a pseudonymous XRP market analyst, highlighted that XRP was trading within an ascending triangle in the 12-hour timeframe.

According to the analyst, the price needs to "close above the apex" of the prevailing chart pattern at $2.75 to "continue the upward trajectory."

"Closing above this level will provide bullish confirmation to continue the upward trajectory, with a measured target of $3.20," Egrag Crypto said.

#5 FUD of the week

Argentine President Milei arrives in US amid fallout from LIBRA scandal

Argentine President Javier Milei arrived in the United States on Feb. 20 for a trip of diplomacy and deal-making, and perhaps seeking a rebound from the unfolding LIBRA memecoin scandal that threatens his administration.

According to Bloomberg, his itinerary includes a meeting with supporter Elon Musk and a session with Kristalina Georgieva, the chief of the International Monetary Fund. Milei will also speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a Trump-friendly event.

The trip may serve to reshape the image and narrative surrounding Milei, both of which have taken hits following the memecoin scandal that local Argentine publications have dubbed "Cryptogate."

#6 FUD of the week

Woman who defrauded Bybit of $5.7M gets 10 years in prison: Report

A woman who falsely amended payrolls and defrauded $5.7 million from the crypto exchange Bybit has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison by a Singapore court.

The Straits Times reported on Feb. 20 that Ho Kai Xin was handed a nine-year, 11-month sentence after she pleaded guilty to 44 charges, including five cheating charges along with eight counts of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct.

Ho committed the offenses while working at the crypto networking platform WeChain, which handled payroll for Bybit. Ho led the payroll team.

She was sentenced to six weeks behind bars late last month for contempt of court after she spent the ill-gotten funds despite the court ordering her otherwise. Ho's nearly 10-year sentence will start after she completes her current sentence, which started on Jan. 27.