Bybit, the Dubai-based crytocurrency exchange platform, is calling on cybersecurity’s best and brightest to help it recover a whopping £1.2bn worth of assets stolen in what is considered to be the largest single theft in the digital landscape ever.

Hackers apparently infiltrated and gained control over an Ethereum wallet, a popular digital currency, which was then transferred to a different, yet-unknown address.

Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of volume of trade, with 60 million global users.

News of the hack, which broke over the weekend, has driven an escalation of withdrawal requests from users, reaching over 350,000 requests.

The crypto exchange has said that all funds will be refunded, even if the stolen crypto money cannot be recovered.

“Bybit is solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss,” Bybit’s chief executive and co-founder Ben Zhou said in a social media post, reassuring customers.

Ethereum itself has also been affected by the potentially record-breaking theft, as its price fell nearly 4% since the news, though it has nearly fully recovered.

The hack occurred when Bybit was making a routine transfer of the cryptocurrency from a ‘cold’ wallet – one that is kept offline – to a ‘warm’ wallet – one that is internet enabled, as part of the company’s daily trading.

During this process, a hacker was able to exploit certain security controls and transfer the assets into a different, currently unknown wallet, the company said.

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All other wallets, Bybit assured, were unaffected by the breach.

While the company has said it will cover the lost assets regardless, it is calling on “the brightest minds in cybersecurity and crypto analytics” to aid its recovery efforts, offering a steep reward of 10% of the recovered amount, which could be up to £120m if all the lost assets are restored.