Bitget Suffers $387.5 Million Hot Wallet Breach, Points to North Korea as CEO Invokes $464 Million Protection Fund
Bitget Suffers $387.5 Million Hot Wallet Breach, Points to North Korea as CEO Invokes $464 Million Protection Fund #
Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget confirmed that attackers drained approximately $387.5 million from its hot and warm wallet infrastructure in a breach detected on September 24.
CEO Gracy Chen disclosed the incident in a public statement, saying Bitget’s security systems first flagged unauthorized transfers at 18:31 UTC on September 24. The breach stemmed from attackers compromising a critical backend system within the exchange’s wallet infrastructure. They used that access to spoof transaction data and trigger Bitget’s own authorization-signing process, causing the platform to approve fraudulent outflows. Chen said private keys were never stolen and that cold wallets, held offline and away from daily operations, remained entirely secure throughout the incident.
The initial tally stood at roughly $351.6 million across 19 separate unauthorized transfers spanning Ethereum, XRP, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, and stablecoin pools including USDT and USDC. Bitget later revised the total upward to $387.5 million after further analysis. On-chain researchers noted that more than $170 million in stolen assets were swapped into ether during the attack, in what appeared to be an effort to complicate tracing and recovery.
Chen said North Korean state-sponsored hackers were “very likely” responsible, citing behavioral and technical indicators consistent with past Lazarus Group operations. She declined to detail specific attribution evidence while the investigation remains active.
Bitget suspended all customer withdrawals after the breach, though deposits and trading continued without interruption. The company said it is working with cybersecurity firm Mandiant and blockchain security outfit SlowMist on a full forensic investigation and to reinforce the affected systems. Chen said withdrawals could resume within hours or days and committed to releasing a root-cause analysis once technical remediation is complete.
Chen pointed to Bitget’s User Protection Fund, a reserve the company says currently holds more than $464 million, as sufficient to cover the full $387.5 million exposure. The reserve is partly denominated in bitcoin, meaning its dollar value fluctuates with market prices ahead of any settlement. Bitget pledged to compensate affected users in full and said no customer funds would be lost as a result of the incident.
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