Ethereum Falls Amid Bybit Hack Fallout
Date: 2025-02-26 Author: Henry Casey Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
Ethereum (ETH) has lost 5% of its value in the last 24 hours, falling to $2,650. The sharp drop is caused by investor concerns after the Bybit hack, which put pressure on the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
According to CoinTelegraph, during the attack, the attackers stole about 401,000 ETH, which is equivalent to about $1.5 billion. It is believed that the hacker group Lazarus from North Korea is behind this. The incident occurred at the time of transferring assets from a cold wallet to a hot one, which created a vulnerability in the platform's security system.
The key reason for concern in the market remains the possibility that the stolen ethers may be sold, which will lead to a further decline in the price of ETH.
According to derivatives trader Gordon Grant, demand for risk hedging instruments has increased in recent days, indicating that the downtrend is expected to continue. He noted that if Bybit completed its purchase of Ethereum to cover losses, then the sale of stolen assets by hackers could put additional pressure on the price.
The options market also reflected the change in sentiment: interest in call options has decreased, while demand for put options has increased, which signals pessimistic expectations among traders.
The weekly 25-day risk reversal for ETH options has increased to 15 pips in favor of put options, indicating a significant increase in demand for protection against further price declines. Analysts at QCP Capital note that this trend is especially noticeable ahead of March expirations.
In addition, the hacker who stole funds from Bybit is now among the largest ETH holders, ranking 14th in terms of assets. This increases concerns in the market, as any movement of these funds could trigger a new wave of sell-offs.
The negative impact of the hack was reflected in other segments of the crypto market: the GMUT (Utilities & Tools) index fell by 12.22%, and GMSOLMEME (Top Solana Meme Tokens) lost 13.78% of its value.
