Bybit says it blocked over 30,000 suspicious withdrawals in H1 2026 safety report

ChainCatcher said Bybit published its 2026 first-half risk and security report on Wednesday. After the February 2025 security incident, the exchange said it overhauled its security architecture and shifted to a defense model built around earlier detection, faster response and continuous adaptation. The report said Bybit blocked more than 30,000 suspicious withdrawals in the first half of the year, protecting nearly 20,000 users from more than $700 million in potential losses. Its average initial review time was 4.7 minutes, and 95% of reviews were completed within 10 minutes. Bybit also said it now maintains 100% on-chain monitoring across all business-related activity, including tokens listed on the exchange, ecosystem contracts, and both hot and cold wallets. During the period, it handled 10 security incidents involving listed token projects and reported zero platform losses. In 8 of those cases, its response was faster than other major exchanges; in 2 cases, it detected the attack before the project teams did. The exchange said it also identified about $212 million in potential fraudulent on-chain funds and blacklisted more than 10,000 malicious addresses. On security operations, Bybit said it processed more than 100,000 alerts in the first half. AI-assisted audits were 3 to 5 times more efficient than manual work at finding high-risk vulnerabilities. Its automated red-team platform cut the time from asset discovery to initial testing to under 24 hours, versus several weeks for traditional manual work, while the cycle from security assessment to testing dropped from two weeks to two hours. Bybit said it is working with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence firms to trace stolen assets, and has taken legal action against North Korea and Lazarus Group to pursue accountability and recover assets. David Zong, head of risk and security at Bybit Group, said: "The cybersecurity arms race has entered the minute-by-minute era. Using AI to strengthen risk control and ensuring AI systems are secure themselves are our top priorities, but key security decisions still rely on human judgment."