Crypto exchange Bitget has confirmed that hackers stole an estimated $351.6 million from some of its hot and warm wallets, prompting the platform to temporarily suspend withdrawals.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Bitget’s security systems detected the unauthorised transfers at 18:31 UTC on September 24, 2026, with CEO Gracy Chen activating emergency response protocols immediately after the breach was flagged.
Chen later explained that attackers compromised a critical backend system within the exchange’s wallet infrastructure, using it to spoof transaction data and trick Bitget’s authorisation process into approving fund transfers, ruling out a private key compromise. She noted the breach was confined to portions of the hot and warm wallet layers, while cold storage, which holds the bulk of customer assets offline, remained fully secure.
According to Chen, Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which holds over $464 million, fully covers the loss, assuring customers that “user funds are safe” and account balances remain accurate. Deposits and trading continued normally, though withdrawals stayed paused pending investigation.
The CEO indicated that IP addresses linked to the attack matched VPN patterns associated with a North Korean hacking group, though the exact attack vector remained under investigation. On-chain analysts observed roughly $183 million in unusual wallet movements before Bitget’s official confirmation, with stolen assets swapped through decentralised exchanges across multiple blockchains.
The incident marks the largest confirmed crypto exchange theft of 2026, coming weeks after the Liquid Network lost $320 million in a separate breach.
CDA News Nigeria will continue monitoring developments in this cybersecurity incident.
Source verification: Adapted from Bloomberg and Forbes reporting. CDA News Nigeria adheres to strict editorial standards.
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