XRP Trading Volume Surges Amid Bybit Hack Fallout
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Whale Activity and Network Dynamics
Blockchain analytics from Santiment indicate that large XRP holders—commonly known as "whales"—have been actively accumulating XRP. Wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP have significantly increased their balances, suggesting a bullish sentiment among high-net-worth investors. Concurrently, Whale Alert reported that over $100 million in XRP was transferred to Bybit from an unknown wallet, adding to the heightened trading activity.
Bybit Hack and Swift Recovery
Bybit, the cryptocurrency exchange, recently suffered what has been described as “the biggest in history” hack, resulting in the loss of approximately $1.4 billion in Ethereum and other tokens. Following the breach, around $200 million in stETH was exchanged for ETH on the open market. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence linked the attack to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus, with compelling evidence provided by crypto analyst ZackXBT.
In response, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured users that withdrawal services have fully resumed. Zhou stated,
"Twelve hours from the worst hack in history, all withdrawals have been processed. Our withdrawal system is now fully back to normal pace—you can withdraw any amount and experience no delays. Thanks for your patience, and we are sorry that this has happened," and noted that over 350,000 withdrawal requests were processed within hours, with just around 2,100 still pending. Despite the hack, all Bybit functions remain operational, reflecting the exchange’s swift crisis management.