In the wake of the market panic following the theft at Bybit, many individuals sought to safeguard 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 all-time highs (Bybit short squeeze).” However, upon closer inspection, it seems that Zhu Su is mocking the fact that Ethereum has not had a “market-shocking” narrative for quite some time.
(Previous context: Bybit hackers stole $1.47 billion worth of ETH, surpassing Vitalik and the Ethereum Foundation to become the “14th largest” holder globally.)
(Background information: Is Bybit seeking to “borrow 500,000 ETH” to weather the storm? KOL: Besides institutional collaboration, only Binance remains.)
Last night (21st), the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was reported to have been hacked, with approximately $1.47 billion worth of ETH and stETH stolen, instantly igniting the community. According to Arkham’s analytical data, the hackers liquidated the assets, netting about $1.34 billion in ETH (499,395 coins) and $42 million in cmETH (15,000 coins), distributing the funds across 53 addresses.
Due to the massive amount of ETH stolen from Bybit (the largest theft in cryptocurrency history), not only did Bybit experience a panic withdrawal wave, with as much as $1.47 billion in ETH stolen, but the market also began to see panic selling and shorting of ETH.
As a result, the price of ETH plummeted from around $2,800 to a low of $2,616.72. Currently, the price has rebounded to $2,694.5, having decreased by 2.43% in the past 24 hours.
Zhu Su: Ethereum finally has a narrative for price increases.
Against the backdrop of market panic, cryptocurrency trader John Brown tweeted this morning:
“Every short seller eventually has to cover their positions, whether it is:
As a cushion to support price declines when in profit, or
As fuel to push prices up when in loss.
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, the founder of the now-bankrupt Three Arrows Capital, directly quoted Brown’s tweet, stating:
“ETH finally has a narrative for hitting all-time highs (Bybit short squeeze).”
However, this remark seems to carry a mocking undertone. According to Coinglass data, the current long-short ratio for Ethereum contracts has not deviated (approximately 50:50 in the last 12 hours), and the funding rates do not show a significant negative rate (predominantly 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 is struggling to find reasons to boost Ethereum’s price, leading Zhu Su to possibly mock 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 for frequent failures.
Additionally, following the hack at Bybit, Zhu Su immediately posted a mocking tweet:
“Finally received my FTX payout. This long 2.5 years has finally come to an end, and I’m glad to have the money back. Just deposited onto Bybit, what should we long?”
Coincidentally, both of these are centralized exchanges, suggesting that Zhu Su may be hinting at the frequent failures of centralized exchanges.
“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
