On February 21, 2025, the North Korean hacking group Lazarus managed to steal roughly $1.5B price of Ethereum. Regardless of the preliminary whiplash impact, the $1.5B Bybit hack may paradoxically increase the very best meme cash in 2025 and past. Let’s dig into it.
Proof Emerges of Bybit Hack’s Sophistication
Subsequent investigations confirmed that the hackers used malware to show a pretend UI to all signers. This might’ve solely been achieved if the dangerous actors in some way contaminated every multisig signer’s gadget, suggesting that the hack was extra advanced than initially thought.
The conclusion was that, on this explicit case, the weakest hyperlink was in all probability the human ingredient quite than Bybit’s safety profile.
Crypto Market Crashes After Hackers Launder All Stolen 499K ETH
So, why is crypto so down as we speak, so lengthy after the hack? In line with EmberCN, the hackers managed to launder the complete $1.4B (499,000 ETH), inflicting ETH’s value to drop 23% following the occasion.
Right now, Bitcoin’s chart tells a tragic story after falling to beneath 83K. Certainly, the entire crypto market appears to have collapsed, with even the very best altcoins becoming a member of the bear motion.
DeFi Exchanges Come Below Fireplace
The Bybit hack didn’t impression cryptos alone. DeFi exchanges suffered, too. Chainflip, specifically, because the hackers began funneling the stolen property via its platform mere hours after the breach.
Chainflip, to its credit score, recognized the suspicious exercise and took motion instantly.
The hackers additionally used THORChain, one other high-profile DeFi service, to swap over $742M shortly after the occasion. In contrast to Chainflip, which has a government, Thorchain is regulated by a community of validators, making it tougher to implement any time-sensitive measures.
The THORChain community recorded large buying and selling volumes following the hack, reaching an all-time file of $859.61M on February 26. This triggered $RUNE, the official THORChain token, to surge by as much as 33% between February 21 and February 26.
Within the spirit of ‘damned when you do, damned when you don’t’, each Chainflip and THORChain had been closely criticized by the neighborhood for the way they dealt with issues.
Chainflip took probably the most warmth, with many arguing that the platform’s decentralized nature meant that the hackers had been free to launder the funds with impunity. On the reverse ballot is THORChain, criticized for not taking motion.
So, the place does this depart us? The crypto market is slowly recovering, but it surely’s nonetheless not out of the bear-infested woods.
Even so, some see this as the very best time to spend money on new crypto initiatives in preparation for the following bull run. Particularly, given the SEC’s upcoming sequence of roundtables on crypto safety and regulation may flip the pattern round.
The next are a few of the most promising meme cash to purchase whereas the market is down.
1. BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) – Supporting Bitcoin to a $1M
BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) is a meme mission tied to Bitcoin’s market efficiency. The continued presale has raised over $3.1M with a token value of $0.00239.
BTC Bull has a number of mechanisms to help its long-term growth:
Bitcoin airdrops every time Bitcoin breaks key value milestones ($150K and $200K)
A large $BTCBULL airdrop when Bitcoin reaches $250K
Token burn occasions for each $50K that Bitcoin provides to its value ($125K, $175K, and $225K)
Stakers additionally take pleasure in a 135% APY with a dynamic reward fee (the extra stakers there are, and the upper their contributions to the pool, the better the rewards).
The mission reveals long-term promise because it rewards hodlers particularly and evaluates alongside Bitcoin.
The tokenomics knowledge appears to be like stable, and the mission’s whitepaper does an excellent job of detailing the BTC Bull imaginative and prescient.
2. MIND of Pepe ($MIND) – The AI Agent Driving the Crypto Dialog
MIND of Pepe ($MIND) is a sophisticated AI entity designed to spur on the crypto dialog and mine the chatter for buying and selling cues.
The self-evolving and self-sovereign AI agent interacts with individuals on X and Telegram and gives predictions and insights into probably the most promising crypto tendencies.
The roadmap hints at nice issues to return, with the ultimate stage permitting MIND of Pepe to create and promote its personal tokens. $MIND holders will achieve unique insights into these initiatives in order that they’ll tune in early to maximise their income.
The presale has raised over $7M with a $MIND valued at $0.0034402. MIND of Pepe at the moment rewards stakers with a 321% APY and a dynamic reward fee, so the sooner you make investments, the upper the post-launch ROI.
3. Dogecoin ($DOGE) – Prime Canine of the Meme Cash
Dogecoin ($DOGE) began as a joke in 2013 and shortly grew to become a crypto sensation. Whereas the mission has no real-life utility, its fired-up fanbase gave it one; to take Doge to the moon.
They evidently succeeded, as as we speak, Dogecoin is a prime cryptocurrency with the ninth largest market cap. You may spend $DOGE in over 2.5K on-line shops to buy something from clothes and software program to domains and personal jets.
$DOGE at the moment sits at $0.1939 after it gained 19% over the previous 12 months. The coin misplaced round 11.6% of its worth in charts over the previous 24 hours however seems to be in a consolidation part, which might be the signal traders had been in search of.
The place is the Crypto Market Going?
Now that we’ve answered the query of the day, ‘Why is crypto crashing?’, let’s look to the longer term.
Coindesk reported on March 1 that the crypto market could also be exhibiting the primary indicators of restoration, with Bitcoin shifting barely previous $84K.
This evaluation tends to be supported by the Concern and Greed Index, with Bitcoin’s value sitting above the neighborhood’s pessimistic predictions.
This constructive outlook additionally comes within the context of BlackRock lastly including Bitcoin EFT to its $150B portfolio. This helps the pattern of wider crypto institutional adoption, which might be one other set off for the following bullish wave.
For that reason, the very best meme cash, particularly ones like BTC Bull Token ($BTCBULL) and MIND of Pepe ($MIND) which can be nonetheless in presale, are trying extra interesting by the day.
Don’t take this as monetary recommendation. All the time DYOR and make investments responsibly, because the crypto market is all the time dangerous and unstable.
