Bybit CEO: Exchanges Must Prepare for Hacks to Happen(ARCHIVE FOOTAGE)On April 21, 2026, Bybit Co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou reflected on the exchange’s hack in an interview with The Block. He said one of the biggest shifts in thinking was moving from preventing attacks to assuming an attack will happen, minimizing the damage, and ensuring the company survives. He also discussed Bybit’s previous reliance on a third party for its cold wallet. The exchange has since built a banking-grade hardware wallet system requiring staff to be physically present to unlock the HSM. However, such systems are costly and time-consuming to build, so most projects still need to rely on third parties. He said companies should address social engineering alongside technical security and build multiple layers of protection on the assumption that an attack will occur.
