Bybit’s $1.46B Ethereum Hack, Crypto Losses, and TRUMP Coin Ban & MEME Act

Bybit’s biggest hack in history drained $146B, followed by a warning of Vitalik Buterin and a ban on the $TRUMP coin. Read More to get insights!A recent Bybit hack has created havoc in the world of crypto. The FBI has accused North Korean-backed hackers of committing this hacking heist. This theft has led to the seizing of approximately $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum from a Dubai-based firm. This hacking event is followed by Vitalik Buterin, highlighting massive cryptocurrency losses stemming from more than just theft, pointing to factors like smart contract bugs, lost private keys, and mismanagement. 

Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are moving to ban political meme coins like TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, with California Representative Sam Liccardo proposing the MEME Act, which would prohibit politicians from issuing or endorsing digital assets. Below, you’ll explore all these massive events in depth and learn about the current market situation. With increasing threats and hacking, investors must stay updated with these latest events. Let’s discover!

North Korean Hacking, Vitalik Buteria Warns & MEME Act

The Bybit attack that took place earlier this month was linked to hacking groups known as TraderTraitor and the Lazarus Group, from which TraderTraitor is linked to North Korea, according to the FBI. According to U.S. authorities, these hackers distribute malware-laden cryptocurrency trading applications to gain access to funds.   

However, cryptocurrency losses are not always the result of theft, as revealed by Vitalik Buteria. It may occur due to software vulnerabilities, forgotten passwords, lost devices, or physical damage to paper wallets—such as in incidents like the Los Angeles fires. Additionally, some users lose access to their funds by failing to back up data during device upgrades.  

X post by Arkham revealing about Bybit Hacker swap to ETH

While the hacking and threats increase in the crypto world, could there be a TRUMP coin ban? On February 27, House Democrats introduced the MEME Act, a bill aimed at restricting U.S. public officials and their close associates from engaging with digital assets. Sam Liccardo, who spearheaded the initiative, explained that the proposed legislation would prevent the president, vice president, and other high-ranking officials from issuing, endorsing, or approving securities, merchandise, or cryptocurrencies.  

$1.5B ETH Conversion to BTC & Why Meme Act?

X post by Ben Zou shared updates on Bybit Hack Forensics Report 

TraderTraitor hackers are rapidly converting the stolen assets into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, dispersing them across thousands of blockchain addresses before laundering them into fiat currency. This is also one of the reasons for BTC’s downfall, which involved approximately 401,000 Ethereum (ETH) tokens. The hackers reportedly converted the stolen assets into Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, likely to launder them before exchanging them for fiat currency. 

This hacking is also one of the reasons for the Bitcoin downtrend. Also, as per crypto analyst Ali Martinez, if BTC bulls fail to hold the $93,700 support on a daily closing basis, it risks falling further to the next major support at $75,600. The warning comes as market participants closely monitor Bitcoin’s price movements amid heightened volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty. As of press time, the BTC price is trading at 3.6%, down at the $91,910 level. 

But is there a possibility of the TRUMP coin ban? The House of Democrats has presented the Meme Act to result in a TRUMP coin ban because, since the launch in January 2025, TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, despite seeing a surge in price in the initial days, have witnessed a dramatic collapse. With TRUMP plunging 82% from its all-time high and MELANIA dropping 93%, according to CoinGecko data, these sharp declines have brought massive losses to the investors, impacting nearly 813,000 crypto wallets and leading to an estimated $2 billion in losses. 

Bybit’s Hack: The Biggest Hack Ever—Drained $1.46 Billion

Bybit’s $1.5 billion hack is making waves, with the notorious Lazarus Group—led by FBI-wanted Park Jin Hyok—pulling off the largest crypto heist in history. The hackers drained $1.46 billion in staked ETH and ERC-20 tokens, doubling the size of the second-largest breach ever recorded. A U.N. panel is investigating 58 suspected cyberattacks by North Korea between 2017 and 2023, which allegedly funneled around $3 billion into weapons of mass destruction development.  Bybit CEO Ben Zhou acknowledged the FBI’s findings, linking to a website offering $140 million in bounties for tracking and freezing the stolen crypto.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Bybit’s $1.5B hack is bullish – Lazarus has diamond hands.<br><br>Led by Park Jin Hyok, now wanted by the FBI.<br><br>They’ve just drained $1.46B in staked ETH &amp; ERC-20 tokens from Bybit, making it the biggest crypto hack ever, twice the size of the second-largest breach.<br><br>How did they pull… <a href=”https://t.co/OV1JzWmhYB”>pic.twitter.com/OV1JzWmhYB</a></p>&mdash; arndxt (@arndxt_xo) <a href=”https://twitter.com/arndxt_xo/status/1893166554612932790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>