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.

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.

TASI

12,112

-1.0% (YTD: +0.6%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,515

-1.2% (YTD: +5.5%)

NomuC

31,404

+0.4% (YTD: -0.2%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

USD 3.75 Sell

USD 3.75 Buy

Interest rates

5.0% repo

4.5% reverse repo

EGX30

30,610

-0.1% (YTD: +2.9%)

ADX

9,613

-0.3% (YTD: +2.1%)

DFM

5,361

+0.2% (YTD: +3.9%)

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: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 1.0% on Thursday on turnover of SAR 8.3 bn. The index is up 0.6% YTD.

In the green: Awpt (+4.5%), Spm (+2.7%) and Banan (+2.6%).

In the red: Zain Ksa (-4.6%), Siig (-4.1%) and Shaker (-3.9%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC rose 0.4% on Thursday on turnover of SAR 44.3mn. The index is down 71.3% YTD.

In the green: Leaf (+9,6%), Ame (+9.4%) and Bena (+8.0%).

In the red: Leen AlKhair (-8.9%), Ufg (-8.0%) and Cmcer (-5.3%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Emaar,The Economic City completed a 53.8% capital reduction to SAR 5.2 bn, canceling some 610k shares to eliminate capital losses, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The master developer of King Abdullah Economic City accumulated net losses and revenue drops in 1Q 2024, 2Q 2024, and 3Q 2024.

Scientific & Medical Equipment House shareholders pledged to collectively hold a 43% stake in the company through 2026 and to subscribe to additional shares if necessary to maintain this percentage, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The shareholders include six major stakeholders, each holding at least 5%, and 11 additional shareholders with a combined 13% ownership.

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