Adam Back, the Blockstream CEO and cypherpunk, took to X to denounce the vulnerability of Ethereum’s EVM. He described the technology as “complex, fragile, blind-signed, un-securable” and noted that hackers have been siphoning “$billions per year for years straight.” Meanwhile, Samson Mow, formerly Blockstream’s CSO and now JAN3 CEO, tagged Vitalik Buterin in a call to consider rolling back the Ethereum chain via a hard fork. Mow argued that such drastic measures might prevent North Korean hackers from selling the stolen ETH and using it for nefarious purposes.
In response to the breach, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that the hackers have begun laundering the stolen Ethereum by converting it into Bitcoin through the Chainflip bridge. Zhou stressed that Bybit is actively working to block these transactions across chains and announced plans to launch a bounty program aimed at tracking and recovering the misappropriated funds. Additionally, major exchanges like Binance, Bitget, and MEXC have supported Bybit by extending liquidity loans, including roughly 114,500 ETH and 12,652 stETH.
The exploit, reportedly linked to the same group responsible for a $69 million hack at Phemex, has reignited concerns over security in Ethereum’s ecosystem. As the investigation continues, industry figures are calling for stricter safeguards to prevent future breaches.