The Bybit crypto hack, the largest in history, shines a spotlight again on central crypto exchange security. DePIN, the rising star of Web3, could have prevented the hack.

Assets were stolen from Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit earlier this month, in what's believed to be the largest-ever digital heist.

It's only February but hackers have already stolen $1.6 billion in exploits, blockchain security firm Immunefi has said.

Following the revelation Friday from cryptocurrency exchange firm Bybit that hackers stole digital tokens worth about $1.5 billion – in what may be the biggest crypto heist of all time – CEO Ben Zhou wrote on X Sunday that it has replenished its reserves. Bybit was able to do this through a mix of emergency loans and large deposits.

According to Bybit's holdings, that amounts to $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency that was stolen from Bybit and its customers, making this the largest ever cryptocurrency theft. However, as Molly White of Web3IsGoingGreat points out, the hacker can't exactly cash out $1.5 billion in Ethereum, because an amount that high would crash the value of ETH.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asked for crypto industry help in tracking and blocking transactions intended to launder the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit by North Korean hackers.

One of the largest publicly-known thefts of cryptocurrency was conducted by North Korean hackers, according to the FBI, who stole $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum from a popular crypto exchange.