WikiBit Exchange Exit Risk Rankings #52: Bybit — Only 5.3% of the $1.5 Billion Hack Recovered, Yet Its PoR Reserve Ratio Still Stands at 104%
Introduction: The Worlds No. 2 Exchange — Perfect on Paper, Vulnerable in Practice In our first 51 installments, weve investigated a range of exchanges, from HashKey to Bitget. For Episode 52, were turning our attention to a name that cannot be ignored: Bybit. On paper, Bybits numbers are among the most impressive in the crypto industry. It was once the worlds second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with more than 80 million users, average daily trading volume exceeding $18 billion, and the worlds third-largest derivatives market, recording $1.49 trillion in trading volume in Q1 2026. It has published 40 consecutive Proof of Reserves (PoR) reports, covering 50 tokens and $19.6 billion in assets. Its reserve ratios stand at 104% for BTC, 103% for ETH, and 110% for USDT. Judging by these static metrics alone, Bybit looks like an industry giant that is simply too big to fail. But theres another side to the story. In February 2025, North Korean hackers stole approximately $1.5 billion from Bybit in what was then the largest single hacking incident in crypto history—surpassed only by Binances reported $6.3 billion theft today. The FBI identified North Koreas Lazarus Group as the culprit and dubbed the operation TraderTraitor. Nearly two years later, the total amount
