Bitget Confirms $351 Million Theft From Exchange Hot Wallets
The exchange said cold wallets were not affected and that a protection fund exceeding $464 million covers the reported loss.
Bitget confirmed about $351.6 million in stolen assets after attackers moved funds from hot and warm wallets, highlighting the security risks posed by third-party tools used by crypto exchanges.
Bitget’s security system detected abnormal hot-wallet transfers at 2:31 p.m. ET (18:31 UTC) Sept. 24. The exchange said the affected assets included Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Avalanche (AVAX) and BNB across multiple blockchains.
Withdrawals were suspended, while deposits and trading continued. Bitget said cold wallets were not affected and that its user protection fund held more than $464 million, exceeding the reported loss.
Gracy Chen, Bitget’s CEO, said the preliminary investigation pointed to a supply-chain attack involving a compromised third-party tool used in wallet operations. The tool allegedly generated falsified transfer information that was then sent to Bitget’s signing system. Chen said the incident was not currently considered a private-key leak, while noting that the final attack path remained under review.
Bitget said it had notified law enforcement and would release a full incident report within 24 hours. The exchange’s response and the protection fund’s ability to cover the loss will be key tests of its recovery from the breach.
