Market shrugs at Bybit

Bybit, a major crypto exchange, got hit last week with the biggest hack of all time, but the market has been largely unmoved by it.

• That sharp drop in the middle of the chart is the news of the nearly $1.5 billion hack — but then ether price quickly went back to normal.

Why it matters: In Bybit's case, reserves were fine when customers panicked and started withdrawing funds (unlike at FTX).

• Between the lines: Because it really did lose a lot of ether (ETH) and ETH-based assets, Bybit quickly secured loans to cover the difference. But its other reserve assets turned out to be safe, exactly where they should have been.

The big picture: Hacks on exchanges often lead to panic, which often get described as a "bank run."

• This is half-fair because exchanges do take deposits, like a bank.
• It's half-unfair too, though, because exchanges don't — or shouldn't — do anything with those deposits but guard them. (Here's looking at you FTX.)
• Zoom in: Crypto exchanges make their money off users trading the funds with each other. A bank lends money out, so a bank run can destroy it because it doesn't have all the money.

The bottom line: Bybit had customers' remaining funds, which is why the market hasn't cared too much about this news the way it did with FTX. (Crypto prices across the board did tank again yesterday but for other reasons.)

Whodunit: The hackers are almost certainly linked to North Korea, according to blockchain research. That much money has to be a nation-state, because no one else would be able to turn that much crypto into cash.

One fun thing: Best tweet. (In case you don't get it, this will help.)