Safe Wallet Pauses Operations Amid Bybit Security Breach

Multisignature wallet provider Safe has paused certain functions as it works with the Bybit team to understand the recent security breach.

On Feb. 21, cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit suffered a cyber attack with a hacker stealing nearly $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether (stETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH), and other ERC-20 tokens, according to on-chain security analyst ZachXBT.

The hacker reportedly used a masked URL to deceive signers, with the link appearing to be coming from Safe. Once the malicious transaction was signed, the hacker took control of Bybit’s cold wallet and drained it.

“We have not found evidence that the official Safe frontend was compromised. However, out of caution, Safe{Wallet} is temporarily pausing certain functionalities,” Safe said on X, emphasizing that user security is its top priority.

Safe is a decentralized, multi-signature cryptocurrency wallet that operates as a smart contract on various blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Avalanche. It provides enhanced security for managing digital assets by requiring multiple signatures to authorize transactions.

Bybit’s CEO has highlighted that the only wallet affected by this hack was an Ethereum cold wallet. Bybit’s team will do their best to assist their partners in tracking the stolen funds, added Zhou. He also asserted that the company has over $20 billion in assets and can cover the losses.