Bitget Exchange Hacked: $170M Drained from Wallets

Summary of the Incident

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget temporarily halted withdrawals after on-chain monitoring detected unauthorized transfers from its hot wallets. While early reports and headlines referenced roughly $170 million drained, blockchain data indicates around $351.6 million in assets were moved from the exchange's hot wallets to a newly created address and then converted into other tokens.

On-chain Evidence and Affected Assets

Blockchain analytics show sizable transfers involving ETH, USDT, USDC, AVAX and BNB. Funds were aggregated at a single fresh address before the attacker initiated swaps and conversions. These on-chain signals alerted security teams and prompted the immediate suspension of withdrawals to contain potential further losses.

Exchange Response and Fund Coverage

Bitget announced its cold wallets remain untouched and confirmed it will use its user protection fund—reported to hold over $464 million—to cover the losses. The platform emphasized transparent communication and promised full accountability for every dollar and decision related to the incident.

Investigation and Next Steps

Internal security teams, third-party on-chain specialists and relevant legal authorities have opened a coordinated investigation. Bitget said a comprehensive report would be published within 24 hours and updates will appear across all official channels. The exchange’s CEO, Gracy Chen, stated the company will not evade responsibility and pledged clear, timely updates.

What Users Should Do Now

Users should monitor official Bitget channels for authenticated updates, avoid interacting with addresses linked to the incident, and enable or review exchange security settings such as two-factor authentication and withdrawal whitelist rules. This event also underscores broader crypto exchange security risks and the importance of hot/cold wallet segregation.