Bybit recovers liquidity levels 30 days after hack — Kaiko

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The Bybit exchange has recovered its liquidity to pre-hack levels just 30 days following the February 2025 attack that drained nearly $1.5 billion in funds.

According to a report from crypto research and analytics firm Kaiko, Bitcoin’s (BTC) 1% market depth, a measure of liquidity, returned to pre-hack levels of around $13 million per day in March 2025.

Cryptocurrency Exchange, Cybercrime, Hacks, Liquidity, Bybit
Bitcoin liquidity on Bybit exchange rebounds to pre-hack levels. Source: Kaiko

Altcoin liquidity levels on the exchange have been slower to recover than Bitcoin but have rebounded to around 80% of the pre-hack levels. The authors of the Kaiko report added:

“This lag is largely due to the risk-off market environment, which has impacted altcoins more severely. While Bitcoin is still seen as a risky asset, it remains the crypto market’s safe haven.”

Overall, the exchange’s trading volumes remain in recovery; however, the report notes that this drop reflects the broader market trend in response to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty that has rattled risk asset markets and is not an effect of the biggest hack in crypto history.

Cryptocurrency Exchange, Cybercrime, Hacks, Liquidity, Bybit
Altcoin liquidity on the platform has been slower to recover than Bitcoin liquidity. Source: Kaiko

Related: Hacken CEO sees ‘no shift’ in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M

Bybit’s incident response

The Bybit exchange was hacked by cybercriminals on February 21, 2025, resulting in $1.5 billion in stolen funds. A post-mortem update revealed a compromised device from a SafeWallet developer, the firm responsible for the multi-signature wallet custody solution used by the exchange, as the cause of the hack.

Bybit kept withdrawals open during the incident, allowing users to access and pull their funds with little delay during the crisis.

Cryptocurrency Exchange, Cybercrime, Hacks, Liquidity, Bybit
A condensed timeline of events of the February 2025 Bybit hack. Source: Kaiko

Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, reassured investors that the exchange was solvent and said that the company’s reserves could cover the shortfall whether or not the stolen funds were ever recovered.

Zhou’s response united the crypto industry behind Bybit, with many competitors providing bridge loans to the exchange, technical assistance, and freezing the stolen funds on their protocols.

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