Baybit Restructures Executive Team Following $26M Weather Fiasco

Several executives of crypto exchange Bybit have changed positions after the flawed weather led to more than $26 million in compensation for users.

On May 31, reports emerged of a change in leadership. A Baybit spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company updates its trading structure “regularly”:

“We have made a joint commitment with the team to put the right people in the right roles. […] This development has resulted in some leadership role changes, which we believe are necessary. […] The affected team members are not leaving the company but have moved on to take on other internal roles.

The changes follow the airdrop of Notcoin (NOT), a monetization game and token, integrated into the Telegram mini app. In a statement, Bybit explained that the airdrop was delayed by system maintenance and an unusually high transaction volume:

“Airdrops were distributed to users whose transactions occurred during scheduled system maintenance. So it took a long time to reconcile all balances and reflect them correctly.”

The delay in the distribution of tokens resulted in a lower trading value for those who received their tokens. According to the exchange, the balance issue affected 320,000 users. In response to the case, Bybit announced a $26 million compensation plan on May 17.

“Total refunds of about $26M will be processed within 3 business days, emails will be sent to you. Again, sorry for the inconvenience, we are working hard to prevent it from happening again,” wrote Bibit CEO Ben Zhou.

It's been a challenging month for the exchange. On May 22, Zhou dispelled rumors that Bybit on X was unprofitable or hacked. The rumor is based mainly on a misinterpreted chart that the funds are leaving the wallets.

In response, Baybit shared its backup evidence and data from Nansen's dashboard showing that it holds more than 100% assets to cover all deposits.

A few days ago, on May 16, Baybit faced regulatory challenges in France. The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has again warned that the exchange has been blacklisted in the country.

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