In the wake of the market panic following the theft at Bybit, many individuals opted to protect themselves by selling ETH and shorting the asset. In response, Zhu Su, the founder of Three Arrows Capital, tweeted: “ETH finally has a narrative for hitting ATHs (Bybit short squeeze).” However, upon closer inspection, it appears that Zhu Su may be mocking the fact that Ethereum has not had a “market-shocking” narrative in quite some time.
(Background: Bybit hackers stole $1.47 billion worth of ETH, surpassing Vitalik and the Ethereum Foundation to become the “14th largest” holder globally)
(Additional context: Is Bybit looking to “borrow 500,000 ETH” to weather the storm? KOL: Other than institutional collaboration, only Binance remains.)
Last night (21st), cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was reported to have been hacked, with approximately $1.47 billion worth of ETH and stETH stolen, igniting a frenzy within the community. According to Arkham analysis data, the hackers liquidated the assets and netted approximately $1.34 billion in ETH (499,395 ETH) and $42 million in cmETH (15,000 ETH), distributing the funds across 53 addresses.
Due to the staggering amount of ETH involved in the Bybit hack (the largest theft in cryptocurrency history), it not only triggered a panic withdrawal wave at Bybit, with ETH amounting to $1.47 billion stolen, but also led to a market situation characterized by panic selling and shorting of ETH.
Consequently, the price of ETH plummeted from around $2,800 to a low of $2,616.72. As of now, the price of ETH has rebounded to $2,694.5, reflecting a decline of 2.43% over the past 24 hours.
Zhu Su: Ethereum finally has a narrative for price highs.
Against the backdrop of market panic, cryptocurrency trader John Brown tweeted this morning:
“Every short seller ultimately has to cover their positions, whether it is:
– When in profit, acting as a cushion for price declines, or
– When in loss, becoming the fuel that drives prices up.
In contrast, not every long position needs to be sold in the future.”
Although Brown did not specifically address the Bybit hacking incident, Zhu Su, who has declared bankruptcy, directly quoted Brown’s tweet, stating:
“ETH finally has a narrative for hitting ATHs (Bybit short squeeze).”
However, this statement seems to carry a mocking undertone; according to Coinglass data, the current ETH contract long-short ratio has not deviated (approximately 50:50 over the past 12 hours), and the funding rate does not show a significant negative rate (indicating a predominance of short positions). Therefore, Zhu Su’s “Bybit short squeeze narrative” does not hold.
Moreover, due to the current weakness in the Ethereum ecosystem, the market genuinely lacks reasons to drive Ethereum’s price upward. Thus, Zhu Su may be mocking the fact that Ethereum finally has a “market-shocking” narrative.
Eth finally has a narrative for hitting ATHs (Bybit short squeeze) https://t.co/rpeceklHsC
— Zhu Su (@zhusu) February 22, 2025
Zhu Su mocks centralized exchanges’ frequent failures.
Additionally, following the hacking of Bybit, Zhu Su immediately posted a mocking tweet:
“Finally got my FTX payout. It’s been a long 2.5 years but glad to have the money back. Just deposited onto Bybit, what are we longing?”
It is noteworthy that these two incidents involve centralized exchanges, and Zhu Su seems to imply that centralized exchanges often face failures.
Finally got my FTX payout. It’s been a long 2.5 years but glad to have the money back. Just deposited onto Bybit, what are we longing?
— Zhu Su (@zhusu) February 21, 2025
