BTC has fallen 12.7% since the cyberattack on crypto exchange Bybit on 21 February, which industry insiders described as the biggest crypto theft of all time. The theft of the roughly USD 1.5 bn of digital tokens at points led to the value of BTC reaching as low as USD 79.3k, marking a 28.2% drop from a record high of USD 109.2k on 20 January, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The theft has left some crypto investors spooked, with the cyberattack targeting a cold wallet — understood to be one of the safest and most secure ways to store tokens. Concerns about the security of decentralized finance are pointed to by market participants as the reason for the sell off.

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The FBI has linked the Bybit theft to North Korea, warning that stolen assets — converted into BTC and other digital tokens — are being laundered across multiple blockchains, it said in a statement last week. With the country’s demonstrated ability to conduct sophisticated operations to steal cryptocurrency — amounting to USD 1.3 bn in 47 separate heists in 2024, according to a report cited by the Guardian — the fear is that large crypto heists will become more commonplace as hackers continue to uncover vulnerabilities.

BTC’s decline isn’t just about Bybit, as investor enthusiasm for pro-crypto policies under the Trump administration has begun to wane amid rising inflation concerns and a perceived stalling of political momentum in support of digital tokens, Forbes reports.

EGX30

30,610

-0.1% (YTD: +2.9%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 50.59

Sell 50.73

USD (CIB)

Buy 50.60

Sell 50.70

Interest rates (CBE)

27.25% deposit

28.25% lending

Tadawul

12,112

-1.0% (YTD: +0.6%)

ADX

9,565

-0.5% (YTD: +1.6%)

DFM

5,318

-0.8% (YTD: +3.1%)

S&P 500

5,955

+1.6% (YTD: +1.2%)

FTSE 100

8,810

+0.6% (YTD: +7.8%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,464

-0.2% (YTD: +11.6%)

Brent crude

USD 72.81

-1.0%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.83

-2.5%

Gold

USD 2,849

-1.6%

BTC

USD 85,855

-1.9% (YTD: -8.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.1% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 4.6 bn (27.9% above the 90-day average). Local investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 2.9% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Development (+5.3%), TMG Holding (+4.0%) and Beltone Holding (+3.2%).

In the red: E-finance (-3.7%), Juhayna (-2.0%) and Eastern Company (-1.6%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

#1- Ezz Steel repurchased EGP 21.6 bn worth of shares from shareholders opposed to the group’s voluntary EGX delisting, Mubasher reports. The company acquired approximately 156.52 mn shares at EGP 138.15 apiece on the special operations market, which will remain open until Thursday, 6 March for shareholders wishing to exit and liquidate their holdings.

#2- Act Financial will pay out dividends worth EGP 190 mn, following its successful capital increase through an IPO in 2H 2024, according to a letter (pdf) to shareholders.

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