The price of ether (ETH) climbed over 2.3% in the last 24 hours amid reports that Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, allocated 100 million USDT to purchase the cryptocurrency. The increase in price followed the news of a hack involving approximately 489,000 ETH, valued at about $1.34 billion, held by a group believed to be associated with North Korean hackers, Lazarus. Analysts note that the stolen funds are heavily monitored and blacklisted by major exchanges, making their use problematic for the hacker. Bybit's CEO mentioned that the company's assets exceed $1.5 billion, with nearly $3 billion in USDT secured in a cold wallet. As a result of these developments, the broader cryptocurrency market showed mixed reactions, with Bitcoin slightly down by 0.3% during the same period. Experts suggest that, due to the scrutiny around the stolen assets, the ETH held by the hacker may essentially be rendered unusable.

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