Bitcoin and other major virtual assets have fallen by 20% since the Bybit hack

According to CoinMarketCap on the 26th, Bitcoin fell up to 12.98% compared to just before the Bybit hack (21st).

The hacking of ByBit, a virtual asset exchange, has seen four major virtual assets, including Bitcoin, fall by 20% since the incident.

According to CoinMarketCap on the 26th, Bitcoin fell up to 12.98% compared to just before the Bybit hack (21st). Bitcoin, which had risen to $99,378, fell to $86,475. As of 7:45 a.m., it is down 4.83% from 24 hours ago to $88,450.

During the same period, Ethereum (-16.56%), XRP (-24.25%, former Ripple) and Solana (-25.95%) experienced greater declines than Bitcoin. Ethereum, which was seized by bi-bit hacking forces, rose to 2,833 dollars on the 24th, recovering until the hacking incident (21st, 2,841 dollars). However, investor sentiment deteriorated and soon fell. The four virtual assets recorded an average four-day drop of -19.94%.

The outflow of funds was also confirmed in the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). A total of 516.4 million dollars were withdrawn from 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs listed in the U.S. on the 24th. It has been net selling for five consecutive trading days since the 18th. Nine Ethereum spot ETFs also recorded a net sale of $78 million on the 24th.

The decline is interpreted as worsening investor sentiment amid a series of bad news. Bitcoin rose to $106,136 (22nd) last month, but plunged -12.38% to $92,996 on the 3rd after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on the 1st (local time). Since then, it has risen to $100,000 (US$99,379 on the 21st), but it has been on a downward curve due to bi-bit hacking. The reliability of virtual assets was also hit by the U.S. Department of Justice's indictment of Aux Cayes, an affiliate of the virtual asset exchange OKX, on illegal remittances on the 25th (local time).

The Fear and Greed Index also entered the "extreme fear" section, recording 21. It represents between 0 and 100, and less than 25 is interpreted as the most deteriorating stage for investor sentiment. It has been about six months since September last year that it has entered the extreme fear section.

In the past, virtual assets showed short-term volatility in exchange hacking incidents, but soon recovered. In the case of Japan's "DMM Bitcoin" incident (May 31st last year), which was an example of hacking the exchange before Bybit, Bitcoin fell only 1.3% from $68,362 just before the incident to $67,475 the next day. Five days after the hacking incident, it rose to the $70,000 level, showing a rapid recovery.

The actual bad news of the hacking incident is caused by the release of stolen supplies to the market. This is because a large number of sales leads to a downward price. Bitcoin fell as repayment began in July last year, 10 years after the Japanese exchange Mount Gox went bankrupt. At that time, 47,228 Bitcoin ($2.68 billion) were transferred from a wallet labeled as Mount Gox's ownership to a new wallet on July 5, reading it as a sign of "starting repayment." As a result, Bitcoin plunged 7.15% over the past three days.

It is analyzed that the volume of Ethereum worth $1.46 billion, which was stolen by the bi-bit hacking, has not yet been released to the market. There has been no focus between the sales and purchases of Ethereum CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta) by virtual asset analyst CryptoQuant. CVD is an indicator that reads buying and selling flows through volume.

"If there is a (deceased) sale volume on the exchange now, dispersion (distribution) should occur due to strong transactions in the market or at designated prices, but it is not yet visible," an official at a virtual asset exchange said. "If you change it to stablecoins or cash it out, it can be frozen, and if you want to cash it out, you have to do it over a long period of time. The sales volume is not expected to pour out in a short period of time."