Crypto exchange Bybit said it was hacked, resulting in what analysts estimate was the loss of almost US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) worth of tokens in the biggest theft ever committed in the industry. Researchers believe North Korean hackers were likely responsible.

A hacker took control of one of Bybit’s offline Ethereum wallets, the exchange’s chief executive Ben Zhou announced in a post on X on Friday. An estimated US$1.46 billion in assets flowed out of the wallet in a series of suspicious transactions, according to posts by on-chain analyst ZachXBT on Telegram. Research firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed around US$1.4 billion in outflows from the exchange, posting on X that “the funds have begun to move to new addresses where they are being sold.”

The hack is the largest-ever crypto theft, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, surpassing the US$611 million stolen from Poly Network in 2021. It was likely the “largest incident ever, not just crypto,” said Rob Behnke, co-founder and executive chairman of blockchain security firm Halborn.

Zhou went on a livestream on social-media platform X in an effort to alleviate clients’ concerns about the hack. The exchange has taken out bridge loans with partners and has secured about 80 percent of funding needed to cover the loss, he said. At the same time, Bybit will try to recover the funds and take necessary legal action against the hackers.