Crypto exchange Bybit says hackers have stolen nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum (ETH) from one of its cold wallets.
In post on X, Bybit says a "sophisticated attack" enabled crooks to gain control of the affected ETH cold wallet and transfer its holdings to an "unidentified address".
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has said in a livestream that the hackers stole around 401,346 ETH, worth over $1.4 billion, making this the largest known crypto theft in history.
According to the etherscans website, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of the ETH has already been liquidated on decentralised exchanges.
On X, Zhou says: "Please rest assured that all other cold wallets are secure. All withdrawals are NORMAL."
He adds: "Bybit is Solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss."