Crypto exchange Bitget pauses withdrawals after $350 million hack

### Bitget Suspends Withdrawals After $351.6 Million Crypto Hack

Crypto exchange Bitget has temporarily suspended customer withdrawals after detecting unauthorized transfers involving cryptocurrency worth approximately $351.6 million, while the company said customer funds remain fully protected.

Gracy Chen, CEO of the Seychelles-based exchange, said Bitget identified suspicious transfers from several of its wallets and immediately halted withdrawals as a security measure. She said the company would cover the losses using its own funds and that there was no shortfall affecting customer balances.

Chen told Reuters that withdrawals remained suspended because of the security investigation rather than a lack of liquidity. Deposits and trading, however, continued to operate normally while Bitget’s technical teams worked to secure the affected systems.

According to Chen, investigators identified internet protocol addresses associated with VPN services that had previously been used by a North Korean hacking group. She also said the methods observed during the attack showed similarities to previous cyber operations attributed to North Korea, although the exact method used to gain access to Bitget’s systems remains under investigation.

Bitget’s security team determined that the attacker had compromised a critical backend wallet system. The attacker allegedly used the system to manipulate transfer information and trigger Bitget’s authorization-signing process, enabling the unauthorized movement of cryptocurrency.

Chen said the breach had been contained and that additional unauthorized outflows had been prevented. She also said the investigation had ruled out a direct compromise of Bitget’s private keys.

The exchange is now repairing and strengthening the affected infrastructure before restoring withdrawals. Chen said the service could return within hours or several days, but she did not expect the suspension to last for weeks.

Bitget has maintained that customer account balances remain accurate and that the full financial impact of the incident will be absorbed by the company.

The incident follows a much larger attack on crypto exchange Bybit in February 2025, when approximately $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen. The FBI attributed that attack to North Korean hackers, while North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft.

Authorities have warned that stolen cryptocurrency can be moved rapidly across borders and through blockchain-based transactions without relying on traditional banking networks, making the recovery of stolen digital assets particularly difficult.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said his company was prepared to assist Bitget following the incident. Bybit had reportedly received support from Bitget after its own $1.5 billion hack in 2025.

Zhou also said Bybit was updating its LazarusBounty platform, which is designed to help track and identify cryptocurrency linked to the North Korean hacking group commonly known as Lazarus.

Bitget says it has more than 120 million registered users, placing it among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The company has not yet provided a firm timetable for the full restoration of customer withdrawals.