Changpeng Zhao Denies Binance’s Involvement In ETH Moves Post Bybit Hack

The $1.4 billion Bybit hack has sparked chaos in the crypto community, triggering massive asset transfers to and from the exchange. In a surprising turn of events, billions of tokens, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, have been transferred to Bybit as a show of support. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has denied Binance’s involvement in the recent transactions.

Binance Not Involved in Bybit Asset Transfers, Says Changpeng Zhao

The massive Bybit hack, one of the largest in crypto history, has left both the community and exchange troubled. However, in a display of solidarity, the crypto platform has received an influx of billions in cryptocurrencies from unknown wallets and platforms.

Amid significant fund transfers from Binance to Bybit, speculation emerged that the former was providing the latter with a liquidity boost. However, in an X post, Changpeng Zhao denied those claims, stating, “Can’t take credit for it.” Instead, he asserted that those were user transactions, adding that whales might have loaned funds to Bybit.

Ethereum Moves from Binance to Bybit

On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed that a whale or institutional investor withdrew 11,800 ETH ($31 million) from Binance earlier today. The user deposited the withdrawn ETH into Bybit’s cold wallet.

Subsequently, a total of 36,000 ETH ($96.5 million) were transferred from Binance’s hot wallet to Bybit’s cold wallet. According to reports, these transfers are part of a loan aimed at facilitating customer withdrawals on the attacked crypto platform.

This follows Changpeng Zhao’s promise to support victims of TST and BROCCOLI tokens. The holders of both tokens faced massive losses as they plunged deeply despite their initial hike.

As reported by Whale Alert, billions of funds in BTC, ETH, XRP, and USDT were sent to Bybit over the past few hours. For instance, an unknown wallet transferred 2,999 BTC, worth $285.76 million, to the hacked exchange. Bitget sent 39,998 ETH ($105.5 million) to the affected exchange. At the same time, the exchange received more than 679.7 billion USDT and 40 million XRP from unknown wallets.

Meanwhile, Jun Du, the co-founder of  HTX unveiled his plans to deposit 10,000 ETH into Bybit today to support it. He added that he would not withdraw the tokens until the next month.

Increased Asset Withdrawals

Following the massive Bybit hack, the exchange saw large amounts of crypto assets withdrawn from the exchange. According to Arkham Intelligence, a wallet address tied to Galaxy Digital’s OTC trading desk withdrew 25,000 ETH (valued at $67.12 million) from Bybit Exchange an hour ago.

Additionally, the same address withdrew around 200,000 USDC and 90 ETH within the past 40 minutes. In a similar move, an unknown wallet withdrew 700 BTC, valued at around $68.8 million, from the exchange.

Amid these withdrawals, Binance-linked wallets’ support for the exchange has been noteworthy. However, Changpeng Zhao’s dismissal of these transfers’ connections to Binance sparks anxiety.

Despite these significant transactions, the exchange still holds $6.7 billion BTC and $1.2 billion ETH. Following the massive $1.4 billion hack and subsequent withdrawals, Bybit’s ETH holdings stand at 450,462, valued at approximately $1.2 billion.

Reportedly, besides ETH, Bybit reserves include BTC, USDT, MNT, and USDC. They are valued at 69,856 ($6.71 billion), 4.12 billion ($4.12 billion), 2.45 billion ($2.21 billion), and 652.16 million ($652.16 million) respectively.