Supply Crunch Incoming? Bybit Hacker Secures Spot as a Major ETH Holder

Bybit Hacker Now a Major ETH Whale, Adding Pressure to Ether’s Supply

Ether has risen 2% as the market factors in the likelihood that the stolen ETH is effectively removed from circulation, tightening supply and driving bullish sentiment.

The hacker responsible for the Bybit exploit—believed to be linked to North Korea—has emerged as one of the largest individual holders of ETH, a development that could have lasting effects on the crypto market.

According to Arkham Intelligence and Coinbase’s Connor Grogan, the attacker controls approximately 489,000 ETH, worth around $1.34 billion. This represents 0.4% of the total ether supply, making the entity the 14th-largest ETH holder worldwide—outranking even the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik Buterin, and Fidelity.

However, the chances of these funds re-entering circulation remain slim. Crypto exchanges have blacklisted the hacker’s addresses, making it virtually impossible to liquidate or move the stolen assets through legitimate platforms.

Meanwhile, Bybit has secured a bridge loan to cover nearly 80% of its losses but may still need to buy ETH to fully recover from the attack.

“This ETH is effectively locked away. No OTC desk or exchange will facilitate movement of such a massive amount. Meanwhile, Bybit is short 402k ETH. The bridge loan helps in the short term, but more purchasing will likely be needed,” said Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, on X.

With supply concerns growing, ETH has bounced 2.6% to $2,730 from an overnight low of $2,614. Perpetual futures funding rates remain positive, according to Coingecko, suggesting traders are leaning bullish despite the recent turmoil.