Zhou confirmed on February 22 that the exchange’s withdrawal system has recovered fully, processing all withdrawal requests. This comes after the exchange suffered a significant blow from the industry’s biggest hack.

“Our withdrawal system is operating at its normal pace, 12 hours after the unfortunate incident. We have processed all withdrawal requests,” Zhou announced to his over 200,900 followers.

He reassured Bybit users that they can now make withdrawals without any limitations or delays. Zhou expressed his apologies for the unforeseen event and promised to release a comprehensive incident report and a security audit in the upcoming days.

This follows Zhou’s warning to Bybit customers on February 21 via a livestream. He cautioned that withdrawals might take longer than usual due to the congestion following the $1.5 billion hack that depleted the exchange of its Ethereum-related tokens.

At the time of the livestream, the exchange was dealing with approximately 4,000 pending withdrawal transactions. Despite this, the crypto community commended Zhou and the exchange for their effective management of the crisis.

Mark Jeftovic, CEO of EasyDNS, lauded Zhou for his handling of the situation. Carl Moon, host of The Moon Show, also expressed his admiration, stating, “Big respect for how this was handled.”

In a post on February 21, 0xJeff described the situation as a “masterclass in crisis management and communication.” Crypto exchanges Bitget and Crypto.com have pledged their support to Bybit.

Bitget, in a show of solidarity, transferred 4,000 Ether (ETHUSD), worth approximately $105 million, to assist Bybit. Gracy Chen, Bitget CEO, stated that they have blacklisted the hacker’s wallets and will block transactions from illicit addresses.

Chen also revealed that their security team and researchers are monitoring these activities closely and will share any significant findings to aid the industry.

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Binance, a leading crypto exchange, paused Bitcoin withdrawals twice on Sunday, citing congestion caused by too many pending transactions. In a tweet, Binance announced, “We’ve temporarily closed #BTC withdrawals due to the large volume of pending transactions. Our team is currently working on a fix and will reopen $BTC withdrawals as soon as possible. Rest assured, funds are SAFU.”

Withdrawals resumed briefly before midnight Eastern, with Binance explaining that their set fees had not anticipated the recent surge in Bitcoin network gas fees. The exchange replaced the pending Bitcoin withdrawal transactions with a higher fee to ensure they were picked up by mining pools.

Binance Learns from the Incident and Adjusts Fees

To prevent a similar incident in the future, Binance adjusted its fees after the withdrawals resumed. The company stated in a tweet, “We will continue to monitor on-chain activity and adjust accordingly if needed… This is a learning opportunity for us, and we’ll do our best to prevent this from happening again.”

Earlier on Sunday, Binance had paused Bitcoin withdrawals for about 90 minutes due to the congestion. CoinDesk reported that there were nearly 400,000 pending Bitcoin transactions at the time.

Crypto Market Impact

On Sunday, Bitcoin prices experienced a 2% drop, while other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Litecoin, saw even greater declines. Despite this, the price of Bitcoin is up more than 70% year-to-date, though it has fallen nearly 9% over the past 12 months.

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According to the Arkham Intelligence dashboard, the lender holds 410,378 staked ETH worth $862.45 million, and the pending withdrawals of staked assets by other centralized crypto exchanges account for around 85% of entities waiting to withdraw. Per Nansen data, Kraken accounts for most of the pending withdrawals with 556,321 ETH, followed by Binance with 216,208 ETH and Coinbase with 117,239.

The recent regulatory actions in the United States could be forcing firms in the region to withdraw their staked ETH. Kraken was fined $30 million by the SEC in February for failing to register its staking services, and the regulator has also filed charges against Gemini while issuing a Wells notice to Coinbase.

Meanwhile, Celsius creditor and crypto blogger Tiffany Fong shared a screenshot of the bankrupt lender’s monthly fee statement on April 14. The statement includes a $72,000 invoice titled “Tiffany Fong litigation,” suggesting that Celsius wants to sue Fong. With approximately $119,000 locked in the firm, Fong has been actively reporting on the Celsius bankruptcy case while sharing leaked internal information.

Celsius Withdraws Over $13 Million of Ethereum from Staking

Celsius, a bankrupt crypto lender, has withdrawn over $13 million worth of Ethereum from staking. This includes 6,521 staked Ethereum that the firm withdrew since the network-enabled withdrawals through the Shapella upgrade. On April 14, on-chain investigator Lookonchain reported that $504.5 million worth of Ethereum had been withdrawn, with Celsius, liquid staking protocol Lido, and Figment being the top three addresses.

According to blockchain analytical firm Nansen, Celsius has withdrawn 4,991 ETH as of April 13, equating to 3.64%. Additionally, the lender holds 410,378 staked ETH worth $862.45 million. Pending withdrawals of staked assets by other centralized crypto exchanges account for around 85% of entities waiting to withdraw, with Kraken accounting for most of the pending withdrawals with 556,321 ETH.

Regulatory actions in the United States could be forcing firms in the region to withdraw their staked ETH. In February, the SEC fined Kraken $30 million for failing to register its staking services. The regulator has also filed charges against Gemini and issued a Wells notice to Coinbase.

Celsius Plans to Sue Creditor for Leaking Confidential Information

Crypto blogger Tiffany Fong has claimed that Celsius wants to sue her in an April 14 tweet. Fong shared a screenshot of the bankrupt lender’s monthly fee statement, including a $72,000 invoice titled “Tiffany Fong litigation.” As a Celsius creditor with about $119,000 locked in the firm, Fong has been actively reporting on the Celsius bankruptcy case while sharing leaked internal information. The blogger also got the broader market attention when she interviewed the founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried.

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The once-collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange has made a surprising comeback, recovering $7.3 billion in liquid digital assets and cash. Since January, this figure has increased by $800 million, according to the company’s lawyer, Andy Dietderich, who testified on Wednesday before the American Bankruptcy Court. A significant factor in the recovery was the strong growth of cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the year, with Bitcoin (BTC) gaining over 80% in the past three months. Additionally, a deal with Modulo Capital raised $400 million in cash from the hedge fund’s accounts.

FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has not yet been convicted in the alleged misappropriation of client funds. John Ray, who replaced SBF as the CEO, claims that improper fund transfers and poorly managed accounting books were the main reasons for the exchange’s collapse. Dietderich stated that “the situation has stabilized, and the dumpster fire is out.”

The Future of FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange

FTX is currently in talks with shareholders about restart options, and a final decision is expected by the end of the current quarter. However, the platform would need to raise significant capital to cover its obligations to all retail clients whose funds have been frozen. So far, only Japanese traders have been granted the ability to withdraw deposits due to strong regulations in that market. Dietderich believes securing external financing or selling some of the platform’s assets may be necessary to relaunch the exchange.

CySEC’s Position on FTX Europe

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) recently announced that FTX EU LTD has initiated the process for customers to request their final account balances and withdraw fiat funds from segregated accounts. The market regulator is optimistic about a smooth and swift withdrawal process for affected customers. CySEC Chair Dr. George Theocharides expressed satisfaction with this positive development, which follows months of investor uncertainty and concern.

Moreover, CySEC has confirmed an extension of the suspension of FTX EU’s authorization until the end of September 2023. The Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license was first suspended in November 2022, following the bankruptcy filings of FTX.com, Alameda Research, and over 130 affiliates. The suspension has been extended multiple times, with the current extension pushing the suspension period even further.

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