😱Crypto Gone Dark: Bybit Hacked $1.4B💀

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Hey, Explorers!

Welcome back to WhaleTales, your weekly digest on crypto's hottest stories.

This week, the crypto market has experienced mixed sentiments🤔. While there is some good news with Paul Atkins getting appointed as the new SEC chair and Twenty One debuts with a hefty $3.9 billion, the market is still on shaky ground. Bybit, the popular crypto exchange, loses millions to a major crypto heist! 🫨

Let us see what is more in store for us this week. 👀 

📬 In This Week’s Top News:

• Crypto Gone Dark: Bybit loses $1.4B to online hackers in a major crypto heist.

• Paul S. Atkins, appointed by Trump, was sworn in as the new US SEC chair.

• Twenty One, the Bitcoin-native company, makes its grand debut with a $3.9b treasury.

• $TRUMP token soars 70% as investors get invited to a gala dinner with the President.

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The Big Story

⚠️Bybit loses $1.4B to online hackers in a major crypto heist💀

On Monday, February 21, the crypto community was shocked by a major crypto heist that wiped out nearly 28% of funds worth $1.4 billion from the Bybit crypto exchange.

Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit crypto exchange, shared on X that around 68.57% is traceable and around 27.59% has “gone dark,” and only 3.84% was frozen. In his post, he added that hackers used complex mixers and bridges to funnel the untraceable funds to peer-to-peer and OTC (over-the-counter) platforms.

North Korea’s Lazarus Group hacked funds through crypto mixers 🚨

The hack was connected to the Lazarus Group of North Korea. They used complex mixers like Wasabi, Railgun, Tornado Cash, and CryptoMixer.  

Multiple swap and cross-chain services like Thorchain, SunSwap, Stargate, LiFi, etc., were used to liquidate the crypto before moving it to OTC and P2P platforms.

Zhou said that the Wasabi mixer was linked to the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and processed a significant amount of BTC before moving it through other mixers like Railgun or Tornado Cash.

Bybit reported that the infamous Lazarus Group took control of a major ETH cold wallet and stole 500,000 worth of ETH in February. Since then, it has been a relentless chase to track down the perpetrators.

Following the hack, Bybit started the “Lazarus Bounty” program as a war against crypto crimes to trace the breached crypto assets. The program incentivizes users who decode mixers, track down, and freeze suspicious crypto funds. So far, Bybit has received around 5,443 bounty reports and has rewarded $4 million to 20 people tracking down $40 million worth of stolen funds.

👉Also read: Crypto exchange eXch to shut down its operations from May 1 amid allegations of involvement with the Lazarus Group in the Bybit hack.

In the Spotlight

🏛️Paul S. Atkins, appointed by Trump, was sworn in as the new U.S. SEC chair 🤝

It's official! Paul S. Atkins was sworn in on Monday, April 21, as the 34th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

President Trump nominated Paul Atkins on January 20, 2025. His position was confirmed on April 9 after the Senate’s approval by a 52-44 vote.

In an official statement, Chairman Paul Atkins said:

Atkins returns as a regulator for the SEC💪

This is not the first time that Paul Atkins has served as a regulator. Between 2002 and 2008, he served as the SEC Chairman under President George W. Bush. During his term, he advocated fair and transparent decisions and cost-effective analysis.

In his early career, Chairman Atkins worked as a New York lawyer and handled several U.S. corporate transactions, mergers, and acquisitions. Before returning to the SEC, Atkins was the founder and Chief Executive of Patomak Global Partners and contributed to the development of the digital asset ecosystem.

Can Atkins reshape America’s crypto future? 🤔

With Atkins taking over the charge from acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the crypto community and web3 firms are hopeful that he can bring significant changes with clearer and equitable regulations, safeguard investor interests, and steer a paradigm shift in the crypto economy.  

Also Read

🚀Bitcoin-native company “Twenty One” is all set to make its grand debut with a $3.9bn initial treasury💰

On Wednesday, 23^rd April, Twenty One Capital, Inc., marked its debut as a publicly-traded Bitcoin-focused company that will bring a hefty treasury of 42,000 BTC worth $3.9 billion.

Twenty One will be backed by industry leaders like Tether, one of the largest stablecoin issuers, Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, SoftBank, a leading global investment company, and Cantor Fitzgerald.

Tether and Bitfinex will hold the major stakes in Twenty One, while SoftBank will get minority ownership.  

The company will be publicly listed through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm.  

👉Read the full statement here.

Twenty One: What does it envision?

Twenty One envisions building an investor community by offering native Bitcoin financial products, lending services, and allocating resources efficiently to improve Bitcoin per share (BPS) for investors. Users gain direct access to company shares instead of ownership of crypto assets.

According to its launch plan, Twenty One will launch two significant performance metrics:

• Bitcoin per share (BPS): Reflects Bitcoin ownership share.

• Bitcoin Return Rate (BRR): Tracks the daily price of 1 Bitcoin.

Jack Mallers, the founder and CEO of the Bitcoin payment app Strike, will lead Twenty One Capital.

After the launch, the newly-founded company intends to operate under the “XXI” ticker.

 🥂$TRUMP token soars 70% as investors get invited to a gala dinner with the President🏛️

$TRUMP token holders, buckle up! You just won the golden tickets to a gala dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump. 🎫✨

On Wednesday, the $TRUMP token surged 70% following the announcement of a private dinner to be hosted with President Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, on May 22.

According to the $TRUMP official website post, the 220 largest holders will receive a private invitation to attend the dinner. The top 25 token holders will get a VIP reception with added perks like a “Special Tour.”

The announcement spurred a lot of attention in the crypto community. Some believed it was just a stunt to overcome investor fear, given the extremely volatile nature of the coin. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the coin surged to $74.59, and within a few days it dropped to just $7.14.

Recently, developers clarified on X that they will delay the unlocking of 40 million tokens to 90 days, as investors feared dilution. Analysts speculate that the “Dinner with President Trump” is a publicity gimmick to boost investors’ confidence in the meme coin.

Amid the ongoing conjectures surrounding Trump’s dinner party, one of the users posted, “Does he know about the dinner?” 🤔

The team has, however, confirmed that one of the terms in the dinner note specifies that while Trump’s attendance at the dinner is not guaranteed, every winner will win a limited-edition NFT🪙 in his absence.

👉Also Read: First Lady Melania Trump posted on her official X platform the launch of her Meme Coin “Melania Meme.”

💡Good To Know

What are Crypto Rug Pulls and Why Should you Avoid them?

Crypto rug pulls are common incidents that mislead investors, resulting in major fund losses. It can be best described as an exit plan where a team or crypto company persuades investors with false promises. Once the public or investors buy tokens, these fraudsters simply disappear, stealing investor funds. 🏴‍☠️🤥

key takeaways:

• Rug pull is a major scam that leaves the project worthless.

• They are quite common in crypto markets, especially for new token launches.

• Investors must watch out for false and overhyped promises; it is possibly a crypto scam.

• Project owners manipulate the token value to deceive the public.

• Decentralized trading platforms are a hot spot for rug pulls.

 ⚠️ Always DYOR: Stay Safe, invest wisely.🛡️

🌐 Market Map

The global crypto market cap on Sunday, 27^th April, is $3.05 trillion with🔻2.0% down over the last 24 hours.

🍿 Quick Bytes

• FARTCOIN, the popular Solana meme coin, outperforms SHIP and DOGE coin with a surge of 4.14%. cryptoweekly.com

• North Korea implants cyber spies to infiltrate the crypto industry and deceive crypto developers. Reuters.com

• Bitcoin soared to $95,000 on Friday after months, as stock prices remained flat. Decrypt.co

• Cantor Equity shares soar high ahead of its merger plans with new Bitcoin-centric company Twenty One. Decrypt.co

🤡 This Week’s Meme Drops 

That’s it for this week, guys!

By the way, do you know someone curious about crypto? Why not forward WhaleTales and help them stay ahead with the latest news? 🗞️😇

Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is educational and not intended for any investment or financial advice.