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Bybit Co-Founder Refutes Claims About Insolvency or Hack

Ben Zhou shared the exchange’s proof-of-reserves to bolster investors’ confidence.

Avatar image of Mishael Nwani Mishael Nwani•May 23, 2024

Ben Zhou, the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, has dismissed rumours about the exchange being insolvent or hacked. Other crypto community members on X have referenced a potential bug in the blockchain intelligence platform, Arkham, as the cause of the rumour.

Bybit Holds Over $11B: Data

On May 22, news circulated within the X crypto community that Bybit was insolvent. The rumours caused users to consider pulling out their funds from the exchange. With a 12% increase in daily trading volume to over $5.5 billion, several users likely withdrew their money from the platform.

An X user pointed out that Arkham’s feed has a bug triggering the rumour. The crypto user also pinpointed the wallet causing the irregularities. Addresses holding Bybit assets were also shared to calm investors.

Hours later, the Bybit co-founder calmed the public with the assurance that the exchange was financially healthy. Zhou also reminded users that Bybit’s latest proof of reserve (PoR) has been published. He shared on-chain data from the blockchain analytics website, Nansen, to back his words. The data shows the exchange currently holds over $11 billion worth of assets.

Why is This a Big Deal?

Bybit is one of the biggest crypto exchanges. The crypto exchange currently ranks third-largest by market capitalization ranking, trailing Binance and Coinbase. This implies that the platform’s insolvency will negatively impact the crypto market.

This sad narrative occurred about two years ago when FTX, a once-giant crypto exchange, crashed. With a balance sheet of approximately $40 billion wiped from the crypto market, several crypto projects were negatively impacted and the prices of cryptocurrencies saw a significant drop.

Mishael Nwani

Mishael Nwani is an avid crypto enthusiast with nearly four years of experience in the industry. Since 2022, he has covered topics across cryptocurrencies, NFTs, artificial intelligence, and financial markets.