Story
Bitget Halts Withdrawals After $351.6 Million Hot Wallet Breach
Summary
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has temporarily suspended withdrawals after identifying unauthorized transfers totaling approximately $351.6 million from its hot wallets. The company stated the losses are fully covered by its User Protection Fund.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has temporarily suspended user withdrawals after a security breach resulted in unauthorized transfers of approximately $351.6 million in assets. The exchange confirmed the incident involved a portion of its hot and warm wallets and stated that the affected amount is fully covered by its insurance fund.
Details of the Security Incident
Bitget reported that its security systems detected the abnormal transfers at 18:31 UTC on Thursday, prompting the activation of its emergency response procedures. As a precautionary measure, the exchange paused all withdrawal services to conduct a thorough security review.
The company emphasized that the incident was contained and that its cold wallets, which store the majority of user assets offline, were not compromised. Bitget also assured customers that their account balances remain accurate, and that deposit and trading functions continue to operate normally.
Financial Safeguards and Investigation
AdIn a security notice, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that the losses are fully covered by the exchange's User Protection Fund. According to the company, this fund holds more than $464 million in assets, exceeding the amount affected by the breach.
The exchange has not yet disclosed the specific attack vector used to compromise the wallets, stating it would not speculate while its investigation is ongoing. Bitget has notified law enforcement agencies and is working with on-chain security firms to trace the funds and has flagged the abnormal transfer addresses. The company plans to publish a full incident report, including a root-cause analysis, within 24 hours.
Market Context
The security breach was first flagged by unusual on-chain activity related to Bitget's wallets, as initially reported by CoinDesk. While earlier blockchain analysis suggested lower figures, the exchange's own assessment confirmed the $351.6 million total. In addition to pausing withdrawals, Bitget also noted that its on-chain trading service was temporarily unavailable as part of the broader security review.
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