Weekly Recap: Hackers Drain $1.5B from ByBit in Crypto's Biggest Exploit

Happy weekend Defiers!

Centralized exchange ByBit was drained by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, with roughly $1.5 billion of ETH stolen. This marks the biggest exploit in crypto history.

Meanwhile, crypto markets remained rangebound this week as Bitcoin swung between $93,000 and $98,000.

More details emerged surrounding the LIBRA memecoin fiasco, with Argentine president Milei showing no remorse, and promoter Hayden Davis revealing his tactics to ‘max extract.’

Plus, Solana activity dropped, the KAITO airdrop elicited mixed reactions, and Monad launched its testnet.

Also, don’t forget to check out our podcasts with Bill Barhydt, founder and CEO of Abra, and Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex and Synthetix.

Enjoy!

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PODCAST & INTERVIEWS

Bill Barhydt: The Next Altcoin Season, $350K Bitcoin & The Future of DeFi Banking

Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra, discusses the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency markets and investment strategies in this week's The Defiant Podcast.

He attributes Bitcoin’s price movements to macroeconomic factors, including U.S. monetary policy and liquidity cycles, and notes a growing trend of companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Barhydt also examines Ethereum’s scalability challenges and the increasing role of DeFi in financial systems, suggesting that decentralized infrastructure could eventually become the standard for banking.

Kain Warwick on Infinex, Synthetix, and the Future of DeFi UX and Stability

Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix and Infinex, discusses the evolution of DeFi and the trade-offs required to improve user experience while maintaining decentralization.

He explains how Infinex aims to offer a more accessible, centralized exchange-like interface while remaining non-custodial, addressing long-standing UX challenges in DeFi. Warwick also reflects on Synthetix’s recent governance restructuring, competition from Hyperliquid, and the potential shift back to a stablecoin-focused model.

Looking ahead, he highlights the importance of regulatory clarity, improved infrastructure, and greater accessibility in driving the next phase of DeFi growth.

Friday

• ByBit Suffers Largest Crypto Hack Ever with $1.5 Billion Stolen The exploit has primarily affected staked ETH assets.
• Safe Wallet Pauses Operations Amid Bybit Security Breach Bybit suffered a security breach on its ETH cold wallet, with the hacker stealing over $1.4 billion.
• Mantle Ecosystem Tokens Drop on Bybit Contagion Concerns Mantle’s MNT token is down 17% since the hack was reported.
• Solana and Pump.fun Activity Declines as Memecoin Mania Weares Off Memecoins have been out of favor since Argentina President Javier Milei touted the Libra rug pull.
• Monad Launches Testnet and Sends Test Tokens to 9 Million Wallets The performant Layer 1 released its public testnet and armed active Ethereum wallets with ammunition for dApp experimentation.
• SEC Launches Cyber Unit to Combat Blockchain Fraud The Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit will target cyber-related misconduct.

Thursday

• Ethereum Foundation Launches Open Intents Framework The framework enhances interoperability within the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Kaito Airdrop Draws Mixed Reactions The AI-powered data tool released its token, with KAITO debuting at a $1 billion valuation.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is Still Bullish on Memecoins Calls memecoins ‘a canary in a coal mine’ to tokenizing everything from artwork to user identity.
• Rune Christensen Pushes Through Sky Changes to Prevent “Irreversible Catastrophe” Christensen says a group of token holders is attempting a governance attack against the protocol.
• Davis Reveals Tactics to "Max Extract" from Memecoins Like LIBRA and MELANIA Kelsier Ventures and Hayden Davis were behind the two largest rug pulls of 2025, LIBRA and MELANIA.
• Aptos Outperforms as ‘Reply Guy’ Boosts Mindshare For the past few months, a self-styled ‘Aptos GCR’ has consistently replied to influential users' X posts.
• RWA Tokenization Firm Centrifuge Has a New CEO, Bhaji Illuminati The former CMO sees real-world asset tokenization as being at an inflection point.

Wednesday

• Coinbase, a16z Join Blockchain Association In Calling For Repeal of “DeFi-Killing” IRS Broker Rule Sen. Ted Cruz seeks to have Congress repeal a rule that requires DeFi software providers to collect user information.
• Ethereum Gas Fees Fall to Lowest Since August Low volatility, higher gas limits and transactions moving to Layer 2s all played a part.
• Iran and Other Sanctioned Nations Are Using Crypto to Skirt Global Regulations: Chainalysis U.S.-sanctioned countries accounted for nearly 39% of illicit crypto transactions in 2024.
• OpenSea to Modify Points Program Amid Community Backlash The legacy NFT platform just launched its OS2 product to the public, but has already rescinded part of its points program.

Tuesday

• Argentine President Milei Remorseless After Promoting LIBRA Scam The Argentine President is facing fraud charges for his involvement in the $LIBRA meme coin scam.
• Bitcoin Sinks Under $94,000 as ETPs Record First Outflows in 19 Weeks Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins tumble as macroeconomic concerns weigh on investor sentiment.
• Solana Crashes as Argentina President Milei’s Libra Rugpull Hits Credibility For many, the Libra debacle feels like the final straw of a broken memecoin market.
• Cardex Exploit on Abstract Chain Drains Users’ Assets The Abstract team has clarified that the exploit was caused by the app's negligence regarding session key management.
• Meteora Faces Insider Trading Allegations as CEO Ben Chow Resigns Chow’s departure follows the spectacular rise and fall of the LIBRA token that caused millions in investor losses.

Monday

• How Incompetence and Greed Led Argentina’s Javier Milei to Become the Face of the $4.5B LIBRA Scam The perplexing backstory of how Argentina's libertarian president came to support hustlers with no track record who ended up scamming his supporters.
• Pig Butchering Crypto Scams Rose By Nearly 33% in 2024: Chainalysis Over $9.9 billion was lost to crypto scams in 2024.
• Arthur Hayes Argues Donald Trump’s Memecoin Will Upend Politics The BitMEX founder claims a new era of political communication has begun.
• Two Estonians Plead Guilty to Running $577M Crypto Ponzi Scheme The pair admitted to defrauding hundreds of thousands of victims through a fraudulent investment platform.

TRENDING

• Monad Launches Testnet and Sends Test Tokens to 9 Million Wallets
• Solana and Pump.fun Activity Declines as Memecoin Mania Weares Off
• ByBit Suffers Largest Crypto Hack Ever with $1.5 Billion Stolen
• RWA Tokenization Firm Centrifuge Has a New CEO, Bhaji Illuminati
• Ethereum Foundation Launches Open Intents Framework
• Kaito Airdrop Draws Mixed Reactions