Bybit’s Supposed ETH Buying Triggers Another Leg Up for Ether’s Price

Ether Rises 2.3% as Bybit Begins Replenishing Reserves with $100M USDT

Ether (ETH) has gained 2.3% in the past 24 hours, outpacing the broader crypto market, where the CoinDesk 20 Index rose just 0.76%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped slightly by 0.3%.

The upward move follows reports that Bybit, the exchange that recently lost $1.5 billion in an exploit attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, has allocated 100 million USDT into fresh wallets. Blockchain data indicates that half of these funds—roughly $50 million—have already been deployed to purchase 36,900 ETH through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.

Arkham Intelligence data, cited by crypto journalist Colin Wu, reveals that the purchased ETH was later transferred to wallets associated with Bybit.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou addressed concerns in a recent Q&A, emphasizing that the exchange remains well-capitalized. “Bybit’s reserves significantly exceed the hacked amount,” Zhou assured, pointing to an additional $3 billion in USDT stored in cold wallets as part of the platform’s security framework.

Meanwhile, the hacker responsible for the exploit now holds 489,000 ETH, worth approximately $1.34 billion, making them the 14th-largest ETH holder globally. However, these funds are flagged and blacklisted across major exchanges, making liquidation nearly impossible.

“With these stolen funds essentially frozen, they are effectively out of circulation, tightening the available ETH supply,” said Maria Carola, CEO of StealthEX.

Some analysts suggest that the reduced sell pressure could be contributing to ETH’s price resilience, reinforcing bullish sentiment in the market.