Bitget Confirms $351.6 Million Hot Wallet Breach, Says Protection Fund Will Cover All Losses

Crypto exchange Bitget confirmed that unauthorized transfers of approximately $351.6 million struck its hot and warm wallets on Thursday, with the exchange's security systems detecting the breach at 18:31 UTC. CEO Gracy Chen said cold wallets, which hold the majority of the exchange's assets, were never touched, and that withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while investigators examine what the company described as a backend system compromise. On-chain data showed funds continuing to leave the exchange until around 21:23 UTC, nearly three hours after initial detection, with one receiving address, 0x770b...63Ee, appearing repeatedly as a destination for ETH and other assets.

Of the confirmed total, approximately $157.5 million involved XRP transfers. Bitget said its 5,500 BTC Protection Fund, currently valued at roughly $464 million, will cover the full amount of the losses, with the fund to be replenished afterward. Chen also said some stolen funds had already been recovered, though she did not specify an amount, and that the exchange is working with blockchain foundations and other partners on recovery efforts.

Bitget has separately indicated it suspects North Korea may be behind the attack, a attribution consistent with past state-sponsored crypto heists targeting exchange infrastructure. Withdrawals remained suspended at the time of the exchange's most recent disclosures.