Crypto Market Recap: Bybit Suffers US$1.5 Billion Hack, Saylor's Strategy Buys More Bitcoin

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at US$94,006.38 reflecting a decrease of 1.9 percent over the past 24 hours. The day's trading range has seen a high of US$95,658 and a low of US$93,775.

Ethereum (ETH) is priced at US$2,640.58, marking a decline of 5.58 percent over the same period. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$2,678 and a low of US$2,633.

Altcoin price update

• Solana (SOL) is currently valued at US$151.06, down 9.8 percent over the past 24 hours. SOL experienced a high of US$158 and a low of US$150 during Monday's trading session.

• XRP is trading at US$2.43, reflecting a 4.8 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency recorded an intraday high of US$2.48 and a low of US$2.40.

• Sui (SUI) is priced at US$3, showing a 9.9 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. It achieved a daily high of US$3.19 and a low of US$2.98.

• Cardano (ADA) is trading at US$0.7176, reflecting a 6.4 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. Its highest price on Monday was US$0.7327, with a low of US$0.7133.

Crypto news to know

Hackers steal US$1.5 billion from Bybit in "biggest digital heist ever"

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has suffered what is believed to be the largest digital theft in history, losing US$1.5 billion worth of Ethereum to hackers this past Friday (February 21).

The Dubai-based platform reported that the attacker gained access to one of its Ethereum wallets during a routine transfer between cold and warm storage, successfully moving the funds to an unknown address.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has reassured users that the exchange remains solvent and has enough funds to cover losses, ensuring all customers are fully reimbursed.

However, the platform has experienced a surge in withdrawal requests, causing processing delays. In response, Bybit has offered a 10 percent reward — up to US$140 million — for assistance in recovering the stolen funds.

Some security analysts suspect the involvement of North Korean state-backed hacker group Lazarus, known for previous large-scale crypto heists.

Ethena raises US$100 million for institutional token

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Ethena, the issuer of stablecoin USDe and token ENA, has raised US$100 million in a private sale of ENA to fund a new token aimed at institutional investors.

This new token will be built on Ethena's blockchain and will be similar to USDe, but with added features to comply with financial regulations, potentially paving the way for greater institutional adoption of Ethena's products.

Strategy's Bitcoin stockpile nears 500,000

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, completed the sale of US$2 billion worth of convertible senior notes due in 2030 in a private offering to institutional investors, the company announced on Monday.

As expected, CEO Michael Saylor also disclosed the acquisition of 20,356 Bitcoin for roughly US$1.99 billion, bringing the company’s total holdings to 499,096 acquired for US$33.1 billion, or US$66,357 each. Rounding the current Bitcoin price down to US$94,000, the holdings are worth about US$46.92 billion.

Nasdaq seeks to list Hedera ETF

The Nasdaq has applied to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to hold the Hedera Network’s native token, HBAR, according to a 19b-4 form filed with the US Securities and Commission Exchange on Monday.

The token is one of a very small number of cryptocurrencies starting the week in the black, up 0.3 percent in 24 hours to US$0.21 at the time of this writing. If approved, the ETF would be managed by Canary Capital, which filed to list a proposed Canary HBAR ETF in November.

Citadel eyes increased crypto market involvement

Sources for Bloomberg said financial firm Citadel Securities is looking to increase its involvement in the cryptocurrency market by joining the roster of approved market makers on major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance and Crypto.com. If approved, the firm plans to set up international teams, according to people familiar with the matter.

Testing begins for Ethereum's Pectra upgrade

Ethereum will initiate the testing phase for its latest upgrade, Pectra, on the Holesky testnet at epoch 115968 on Monday, marking another advancement in Ethereum's ongoing development.

The Pectra upgrade is designed to enhance the network's scalability, security and overall efficiency, addressing some of the current limitations of the Ethereum blockchain such as transaction fees and network congestion.

This testing phase will help developers identify potential issues before the upgrade is deployed on the Ethereum mainnet, which is scheduled for later this year.