ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou responded to the concerns regarding the Launchpool project OIK token dump: "The budget for OIK's launchpool activity was a total of 10 million tokens provided by the project party, of which 3.3 million have been distributed, with over 90,000 users participating in the activity. The launchpool is still ongoing and will conclude on March 19, with 5.7 million tokens yet to be distributed.Bybit has never sold off activity budgets for profit; such market manipulation has serious legal consequences, and the budget is all in hot wallets, which can be audited by any regulatory authority. Currently, it appears that there are indeed large holders selling OIK in the market, and the compliance department is investigating the specific details. In the future, we are considering allowing the community to have a more direct view of our budget situation by using independent wallets to receive project budgets, enabling the community to see everything transparently."It is reported that previously some community users raised concerns: "It is inferred that Bybit is using its own Launchpool as a cash machine. The TGE of SpaceNation, which has been built for a year, was a failure. However, over the past three days, the community has gone from outrage to resentment to questioning and investigation, and has collected some evidence. A community sold less than 5% of the project, yet the project party absorbed an abnormal circulation volume within 30 minutes of the opening."

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou posted on the X platform that the large-scale liquidation of ETH by whales with 50x leverage on Hyperliquid essentially utilized the platform's liquidation engine to exit. CEX also faces the same challenges; when whales are liquidated, the CEX liquidation engine also takes over positions. Reducing the overall leverage ratio is one method and may be the most effective one, but doing so can harm the business, as users always want to achieve higher leverage. Additionally, while deploying tools like dynamic risk limit mechanisms can be considered—such as reducing the total leverage ratio based on the total position size as the position grows—this won't fundamentally solve the problem if users utilize multiple accounts.If DEXs wish to provide high leverage services in the long term and avoid situations similar to the 50x leverage whales utilizing the platform's liquidation engine to exit on Hyperliquid, they may need to attempt CEX-level risk management, such as market monitoring to identify abusers and market manipulators. It will be interesting to follow the developments of this matter, as it may drive innovation in liquidation mechanisms.

ChainCatcher message, Bybit CEO BEN responds to OKX Star: "We have not made any statements regarding this Bloomberg article; it should just be based on the facts shown by on-chain data. When we saw some funds flowing to OKX web3, we contacted the OKX web3 team and requested assistance in tracking the funds' whereabouts. Your team responded and provided us with the logic, allowing us to continue tracking most of the funds. What the hackers did was use multiple cross-chain bridges to convert ETH to BTC, with Thor being the largest cross-chain bridge they used. I hope this clarifies things."

According to ChainCatcher's message, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou disclosed that the total amount of funds stolen by hackers is $1.4 billion (approximately 500,000 ETH), of which 77% is still traceable, 20% is untraceable, and 3% has been frozen.Specific analysis shows that 83% (417,348 ETH, approximately $1 billion) has been converted to Bitcoin, distributed across 6,954 wallets. The hackers primarily converted ETH to BTC through THORChain, accounting for about 72% (361,255 ETH). Additionally, 16% of the funds (79,655 ETH) were lost through the ExCH platform, and 8% of the funds (40,233 ETH) were transferred via OKX Web3 proxy, of which about 5% is untraceable.Currently, 11 parties have assisted in freezing the funds, with Mantle, Paraswap, and ZachXBT contributing the most, collectively paying out a bounty of 2.179 million USDT.

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou disclosed on social media that the platform has processed 2,167 reports since its launch.Ben Zhou stated that the Lazarus bounty platform has released a major update for version 1.1. The new version adds a hacker address analysis feature, allowing bounty hunters to view all stolen assets across chains and gain a comprehensive understanding of fund flows.The platform has also added a Discord channel for hunters to submit bounties, equipped with an automatic blacklist address checking system to avoid duplicate submissions.In addition, the update ranks the balances of hacker wallets and displays the names of bounty hunters in verified reports.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Pi Network responded to Bybit CEO Ben Zhou's controversy questioning its legitimacy. Previously, an X account claiming to be the "unofficial technical team" of Pi Network stated that the project rejected Bybit's listing proposal, and Zhou subsequently accused Pi Network of being a "scam," citing warnings from Chinese authorities.Pi Network told Cointelegraph that it is not associated with the X account and confirmed that Bybit has never submitted a Know Your Business (KYB) verification request. Regarding the warning from Chinese police, Pi Network clarified that the related incident involved malicious actors impersonating the project, rather than the company itself.In response to the user count controversy, Pi Network explained that the 60 million users it promotes are app users, while the 10.8 million users shown on the blockchain explorer are the number of users who have created wallets on the mainnet.

ChainCatcher message, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou posted on the X platform "calling out" eXch executive Sarah Nugent, stating: "By freezing Lazarus's funds, you can earn a 5% cut... this is much more than what you would earn from helping with money laundering... stand on the side of the good people."

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated on social media, "User liquidations do not mean that the trading platform is profitable. Bybit ranks first in the 24-hour liquidation amount because we provide completely transparent data about liquidations."

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated in a community AMA that the latest asset proof audit report has been obtained and will be updated on the official website soon. Bybit has returned to a 1:1 rigid redemption, and in the past 24 hours, Bybit's capital inflow ranked first among global CEXs.Bybit will launch a website tracking the flow of stolen funds and will update the recovery progress and other data in real-time. Users who provide effective clues can receive a reward.Bybit's new coin announcement section will regularly publish the performance and financial reports of listed projects, covering five major dimensions: core financial data, token metrics, on-chain activities and network health, governance and community, as well as risk disclosure and future roadmap.

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that the Bybit exchange has fully replenished the previous Ethereum reserve gap, and a new Proof of Reserve (POR) audit report will be released soon.

ChainCatcher message, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated on platform X: "At this moment, it is actually not about Bybit or any entity, but rather our general attitude as an industry towards hackers. We sincerely hope that eXch can reconsider and help us stop the funds from flowing out of their platform. We have also received assistance from Interpool and international regulatory agencies to help stop these funds, which is not just about helping Bybit."Previously, eXch had rejected Bybit's request to intercept funds, and a significant amount of ETH has already been washed through eXch, exchanged for BTC, XMR, and others.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, regarding whether to support rolling back Ethereum to before the theft, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated in a Space: "I'm not sure if this is a decision for one person. According to the spirit of blockchain, perhaps it should be a voting process to see what the community thinks, but I'm not very sure."

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou posted on social media, "I agree with Zhao Changpeng's point of view. If this hacking attack was through infiltrating our internal systems (such as a part of the withdrawal system) or if the hot wallet was compromised, we would immediately suspend all withdrawals until we find the root cause of the problem.However, in yesterday's incident, it was our ETH cold wallet (we use Safe) that was compromised, which is unrelated to any of our internal systems. Therefore, I can decisively decide to keep all withdrawals and system functions of Bybit running as usual.During last night's crisis, Binance, Zhao Changpeng, and many partners and industry leaders actively offered help, for which we are deeply grateful and feel incredibly warm for the support received. This incident is a huge blow to Bybit, but the entire industry has shown the power of unity. I believe that from now on, everything will only move in a better direction."

ChainCatcher message, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng expressed detailed views on the recent hacking incident, "We have observed a pattern where hackers are able to steal large amounts of cryptocurrency from multi-signature 'cold storage' solutions. Exchanges like Bybit, Phemex, and WazirX have all encountered similar situations. In the recent Bybit case, hackers were able to make the front-end user interface display legitimate transactions, while the actual signatures pointed to another transaction. For other cases, based on limited information, it seems that similar methods were employed.What is even more concerning is that the affected exchanges used different multi-signature solution providers. The hacker organization Lazarus Group has demonstrated extremely advanced and widespread infiltration capabilities. It is still unclear whether the hackers successfully infiltrated multiple signing devices, the server side, or both were compromised.Some have questioned my previous suggestion to pause withdrawals as a standard security precaution (a tweet I posted while on the shuttle bus to the airport). My intention was to share a practical approach based on experience and observation, but there is no absolute right or wrong in this practice. My guiding principle has always been to lean towards the safer side. After any security incident, all operations should be paused to ensure we fully understand what happened, how the hackers infiltrated the system, which devices were compromised, and only after triple-checking for safety should we resume operations.Of course, pausing withdrawals may trigger more panic. In 2019, after a significant hacking incident of $40 million, we paused withdrawals for a week. When we resumed withdrawals (and deposits), the deposit volume actually exceeded the withdrawal volume. This does not mean that this method is better; each situation is different and requires judgment. I tweeted to share potentially effective practices, intending to express support in a timely manner. I believe Ben made the best decision based on the information available.Ben maintained transparent communication and a calm demeanor while handling this challenging situation. This stands in stark contrast to other CEOs lacking transparency, such as those from WazirX, FTX, etc.The cases mentioned here are all different. FTX is a case of fraud, and as for WazirX, I will refrain from commenting due to ongoing litigation.Most importantly, we should never take security for granted. It is essential to understand security knowledge so that you can choose the right tools for your needs. To this end, I will share an article I wrote a few years ago. Although some parts may be outdated, the basic concepts still apply. Stay safe (SAFU)!"

ChainCatcher message, Bybit CEO stated that Bitget is the first CEX to provide assistance without any interest requirements. In addition, MEXC and Huobi have also offered help.Bitget CEO Gracy mentioned in a Space that they proactively communicated with Bybit CEO BEN and offered assistance, providing short-term liquidity without requiring any collateral, no interest rates, and no commitments needed. It can be returned when Bybit no longer needs it. Currently, it is understood that Bybit's liquidity has been improved and does not require further support.

ChainCatcher news, the cross-chain bridge Chainflip responded to Bybit CEO's freezing request stating, "We have done our best to handle the current situation, but as a decentralized protocol, we cannot completely stop, freeze, or redirect any funds. However, we have currently shut down some front-end services to prevent the flow of funds."Previous news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou posted on social media that he has detected hackers attempting to transfer assets to the BTC network via Chainflip. He hopes that the cross-chain bridge project will help Bybit stop and prevent further asset transfers to other chains. Bybit will soon launch a bounty program for anyone who helps them stop or track down the funds leading to recovery.

ChainCatcher message, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou disclosed that hackers are converting stolen funds into Bitcoin through the Chainflip cross-chain bridge. Zhou published several suspicious transaction hashes and the hacker's Bitcoin receiving address, while calling on cross-chain bridge service providers to assist in stopping the fund transfer.Zhou stated that Bybit will soon launch a bounty program to reward those who help track or stop the fund transfer and ultimately facilitate the recovery of the funds.

ChainCatcher message, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that it has been 12 hours since the most severe hacking attack in history. All withdrawals have been processed. The withdrawal system has now fully returned to normal speed, and users can withdraw any amount without encountering any delays.Bybit will release a complete incident report and security measures in the coming days. Ben Zhou will also personally update everyone on any new developments. Thank you to all our customers, friends, and partners who helped and supported us during these difficult 12 hours.

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated on social media that Bybit will transfer 2.95 billion USDT from cold wallets to hot wallets, which is a planned strategy and not a fund movement.

ChainCatcher news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that since the hacking attack (10 hours ago), Bybit has experienced the highest number of withdrawals ever, receiving over 350,000 withdrawal requests in total, with approximately 2,100 withdrawal requests still pending. Overall, 99.994% of withdrawals have been completed.Despite suffering the most severe hacking attack in history (banking, cryptocurrency, finance), all Bybit functions and products are still operating normally, and the entire team has been awake all night, addressing and answering customer questions and concerns. The whole team is on standby.