Following the largest crypto hack in history, Bybit is slowly recovering—thanks in large part to retail investment.
Crypto exchange Bybit is recovering from the largest hack in crypto history, which resulted in a $1.6 billion loss. In a research report by Block Scholes, commissioned by Bybit, the analytics firm outlined the nature of the crash and the platform’s subsequent recovery.
Following the hack, Bybit’s market share dropped from 10% in January 2025 to just 4%. However, according to the report, that figure rebounded to 7% within weeks. At the same time, both trading volumes and order book depth, the quantity of orders at different price levels, quickly stabilized.
“While the hack triggered a sharp but brief disruption in volumes and order book depth — particularly in the BTC and ETH markets — bid-ask spreads across major tokens remained largely intact,” the report noted.
The bid-ask spread, or the difference between the seller’s and buyer’s prices, stayed tight on Bybit despite the decline in volumes. This suggests that market makers remained active, contributing to an efficient market even in the wake of the incident.
Bybit’s retail focus helps in recovery
The report also attributes part of Bybit’s recovery to the launch of Retail Price Improvement (known as RPI) orders. These orders are available only to retail traders using the app and are not accessible to institutions or trading bots. This approach aims to level the playing field for individual investors.
The feature proved popular. Bybit’s 3-stall liquidity, a measure of near-the-market liquidity, was significantly higher for RPI orders than for regular orders. This helped the exchange maintain tight spreads for retail and manual traders.
BTCUSDT spot 3-stall liquidity by order type, RPI and non-RPI, from Feb 24–Apr 1, 2025 | Source: Bybit
According to the report, RPI orders played a key role in stabilizing liquidity, marking the first step in Bybit’s efforts to reclaim its share of the spot crypto trading market.
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