Crypto Market Crash : Bybit Hack, Ethereum Price Plunge, Bitcoin News and More

Bybit exchange has experienced a major security breach, with 405,000 ETH, worth around $1.1 billion, flowing out of the platform just hours ago. According to Bybit’s CEO, the incident appears to be a hack. The stolen ETH has since been transferred across multiple addresses. As per data from Arkham Intelligence, $1 billion worth of ETH (400,000 ETH) has now been transferred to new wallets from the original hack address.

Shiba Inu’s burn activity drew notice as over 20.4 million tokens were sent to a dead wallet in one transaction, with nearly 13 million burned, totaling over 35 million tokens removed in 24 hours. This increased the burn rate by 133.07%. Over the past week, more than 115.6 million tokens were burned, significantly marking a 60.25% rise. The community views these burns as key to shaping SHIB’s future price movement.

Coinbase announces that the SEC has agreed to drop its enforcement case against the company, with no settlement or compromise required. They thank their legal team and board for challenging what they call a misguided witchhunt. Coinbase stresses the urgent need for clear rules and legislation to prevent future unlawful behavior. They look forward to collaborating with Congress so the U.S. can focus on innovative tech that improves the world.

SEC staff has agreed in principle to dismiss its unlawful enforcement case against Coinbase, a major win for the company, its customers, and the crypto industry. The case was brought two years after Coinbase went public despite no change in its business model, driven by shifts in SEC political leadership. This outcome upholds the rule of law and underscores the need for legislation to foster innovation and freedom for all.

Ross Ulbricht, who was recently released from prison, is asking for Roger Ver, also called Bitcoin Jesus, to be forgiven. Ver is facing a long prison sentence for tax evasion. Roger Ver was arrested in Spain last April on US charges of tax evasion, fraud, and filing false tax returns after renouncing his US citizenship in 2014. The US claims he failed to pay an exit tax and concealed Bitcoin profits worth $240 million, leading to a $48 million tax gap. However, Roger Ver denies the charges, saying it was hard to file an accurate exit tax due to limited Bitcoin markets. In January, Roger Ver asked former President Trump for help, who has previously pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road.

In a recent X post, Sunil Kavuri, representative of FTX’s largest creditor group, reported that many repayment claims are coming from jurisdictions currently ineligible for FTX distributions, including Russia, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Ukraine. He stated that FTX is evaluating possible solutions. He noted that Chinese users account for 8% of FTX’s global customers, the largest after Cayman and BVI. FTX has begun repaying its creditors on February 18, 2025, the company initiated payments, starting with creditors holding claims under $50,000. The repayment plan prioritizes smaller creditors, with payments to those holding larger claims expected to commence in the second quarter of 2025.

Binance CEO Richard Teng warned investors about the risks of investing without proper research, urging them to DYOR. Some traders welcomed his advice, while others criticized Binance for promoting low-cap, insider meme coins. Earlier, Binance showcased efforts to cut illicit crypto transactions. Chainalysis found illegal crypto activity dropped to 0.14% last year, thanks to strong risk management and fraud prevention measures, even as Binance’s market cap and user base grew.

Franklin Templeton launched its new spot Bitcoin and Ethereum combo ETF on the Cboe BZX exchange. The ETF, called EZPZ, provides market cap-weighted exposure to Bitcoin (82%) and Ethereum (18%) with plans to add more assets as approved. With a sponsor fee of 0.19% waived until August and Coinbase as custodian, the launch comes two months after SEC approval, reflecting growing institutional interest in crypto assets. A major market milestone.

Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, has boosted transparency by making all liquidation data fully accessible via its enhanced API. The new WebSocket “All Liquidations” delivers real-time data every 500 milliseconds, overcoming previous API limitations. CEO Ben Zhou emphasized the importance of comprehensive data for market clarity, risk mitigation, and strategic insights. Institutional investors and traders now gain a complete view of market dynamics, fostering trust and enabling sophisticated trading strategies, as CoinGlass integrates the data for enhanced market analysis.

KAITO’s unexpected airdrop led to swift selling by top claimers, with many selling off their tokens, creating strong selling pressure. Of the top 12 claimers, 10 sold off their holdings, while only 3 staked their coins. On-chain data shows 76.7% of users reduced their holdings, suggesting skepticism about KAITO’s long-term value. Despite this, a recovery could happen if KAITO manages to regain community trust and execute plans to tokenize social media content.

Ho Kai Xin, a payroll worker at Wechain Fintech, stole over $5.7 million in cryptocurrency from ByBit by manipulating Excel files. She transferred funds to her wallets and spent lavishly on a penthouse and luxury goods. Despite being investigated, she continued using the stolen money and lied to authorities. Ho was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison and previously received six weeks’ jail for disobeying court orders.

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, plans to launch a crypto token called YZY to bypass platforms like Shopify, which severed ties with him over his controversial views. Seventy percent of the token will go to Ye, while 20% is for investors and 10% for liquidity. The token will be used on his Yeezy website.

President Donald Trump’s new FBI Director Kash Patel’s portfolio includes $115,000 in Bitcoin and a $100,000 investment in Core Scientific stock. His digital asset holdings spark debates over potential conflicts of interest, raising questions about transparency and oversight in political finance while reflecting modern trends in diversified investment strategies critically.

South African firm Altvest Capital Ltd. is set to become Africa’s first listed company to adopt Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, following Michael Saylor’s successful strategy. Having already purchased one Bitcoin, Altvest is seeking regulatory approval to raise 200 million rand ($10 million) through a share sale to expand its Bitcoin holdings. CEO Warren Wheatley noted that final decisions are pending.

Pi Network, a smartphone mining project with 60 million users, launched its PI token on Thursday. The token debuted at $1.70, surged 18%, then fell 50% within two hours. With a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens and 6.3 billion in circulation, its market cap is around $6.1 billion despite a high fully diluted value. The project uses referral-based mining, similar to MLM schemes, and faces liquidity issues. Token lock-ups can boost mining rewards but also add to trading volatility.

Kraken and Crypto.com are set to launch their own stablecoins in the European Union, taking advantage of the new MiCA regulations that have led to Tether’s exit. With only ten companies authorized so far, the competition is intensifying. Major players like Circle, Societe Generale, and StablR are on the list. This move signals a shifting digital finance landscape, as more firms strive to provide secure, compliant stablecoin solutions and innovation.

Grayscale’s XRP ETF filing is now in the Federal Register. The SEC must approve or deny the proposal by October 18, though a decision might come earlier. The agency has received several XRP ETF proposals, raising the approval odds to 81% in 2025. Additionally, multiple Solana ETF filings from Grayscale, VanEck, Canary Capital, and Bitwise will be reviewed by the SEC before October 16. This marks a significant step for crypto ETFs in the U.S.

Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, said the U.S. should buy 20% of Bitcoin to build a national digital reserve. He believes that owning about 4 million coins could strengthen the dollar, boost the economy, and help pay off the national debt. Saylor warned that if the U.S. doesn’t act, other nations like China or Russia might grab the opportunity first. He also emphasized that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature makes it a safe asset.

The crypto market today has seen a spike of 1.26% in 24 hours, taking the market cap to $3.21T. The upward move was majorly catalyzed by Bitcoin, which surged 1.16% to $98,298.02. With more positive influence, we can expect the BTC price to hit a 24-hour high of $99k. Coming to Ethereum’s move, ETH with a surge of 0.30% to $2,749.47. Conversely, XRP lost 2.13% gains to trade at $2.65.

SafeMoon CTO Thomas Smith pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud conspiracy charges in a multimillion-dollar crypto fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege that Smith, along with CEO Braden John Karony and token creator Kyle Nagy, deceived investors by falsely claiming the SafeMoon token’s liquidity was locked while diverting over $200 million for personal use. While Karony remains defiant and Nagy is at large, Smith’s plea marks a major development in the case. After a probe, the plea underscores crypto fraud risks.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, now serving a 25-year sentence for fraud, is shifting his political stance by expressing support for Donald Trump and criticizing Biden’s administration during interviews with the New York Sun. Once a prominent Democratic donor, he now praises Elon Musk’s bold approach to cutting government waste. Bankman-Fried also blames a politicized DOJ and criticizes Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both his trial and a case against Trump. His family is now reportedly seeking a presidential pardon for him.

Upbit will list JTO (Geeto) on its KRW market starting February 21 at 14:30 KST, supported on the Solana network. Users are advised to ensure deposits are made via the designated network (JTO-Solana), as other networks won’t be supported. Trading restrictions will apply for the first 5 minutes, including buying and selling limits. Check the BTC market for the previous closing price of JTO at 0.00002857 BTC (4,163 KRW).

Japan’s core inflation hit 3.2% in January, the fastest pace in 19 months, fueling expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will continue raising interest rates. Bond yields rose as markets bet on more aggressive hikes. Despite slower services inflation, goods prices remain high, with energy and food costs pushing inflation further. With Japan’s economy growing 2.8% in Q4, most economists expect the BOJ to hike rates again this year, likely in Q3, to 0.75%.