A year after losing $1.46 billion, Bybit says AI helped it save $700 million
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit claims that its AI-driven security systems prevented over $700 million in potential losses and blocked 30,000 suspicious withdrawal requests. This development follows a massive $1.46 billion theft in 2025, highlighting the growing arms race between cyber attackers and AI-powered defense mechanisms.
Why it matters
As cyber threats from state-sponsored groups evolve, the integration of AI in financial security is becoming a critical necessity for the stability of the crypto industry.
Between Jan. 1 and June 15, Bybit said the AI system also stopped more than 30,000 suspicious withdrawal requests, protecting close to 20,000 users from over $700 million in potential losses. The first review of a flagged withdrawal averaged 4.7 minutes, the exchange said in a release shared with CoinDesk.
There’s a reason the exchange is publishing figures like these. In February 2025, it lost roughly $1.46 billion in the largest theft in crypto's history, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group. It is now pursuing legal action against the state and the group.
"Potential losses" are withdrawals Bybit says it stopped rather than thefts that were definitely underway. AI also flagged about $212 million in funds it linked to fraud and blacklisted more than 10,000 addresses, the company said, though the figures cannot be verified independently.
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