Key Insights:
- Bitget confirmed a $351.6 million security breach, with withdrawals suspended during the investigation.
- Bitget says its $464 million-plus Protection Fund is sufficient to cover the reported losses while user funds remain protected.
- The incident adds to a recent run of major crypto hacks involving exchanges, protocols, and crypto wallets.
Bitget verified a security breach amounting to roughly $351.6 million on Sept. 24, after its security monitoring systems identified unauthorized transfers originating from some of its hot wallets at 18:31 UTC.
The exchange announced that it triggered its emergency response protocols and temporarily halted withdrawals pending the conclusion of its investigation.
According to CEO Gracy Chen, the breach impacted certain layers of Bitget’s hot and warm wallets. The platform emphasized that its private keys permanently offline.">cold storage remains secure and that user account balances and assets are safe.
The magnitude of the revealed loss ranks this event among significant exchange that holds customer funds and matches orders internally.">centralized exchange crypto hacks. Nonetheless, Bitget noted that the total estimated deficit is fully covered by its User Protection Fund, which currently exceeds $464 million.
Bitget Freezes Withdrawals After Breach Detection
Bitget reported that its security division detected the unauthorized transfers and set emergency measures into motion within minutes. The exchange has successfully identified and flagged the abnormal transfer addresses, informing relevant parties. Law enforcement agencies and on-chain security specialists have also been alerted and are taking part in the ongoing probe.
As a precautionary measure during the security review, withdrawals stay temporarily paused. However, deposits and trading operations continue as normal, per the exchange.
Bitget has not yet revealed the specific attack vector. Chen stated that the firm will refrain from speculating on how the breach happened until the investigation wraps up.
This distinction remains important at this stage. While the platform has verified the unauthorized transfers and estimated loss, it has not publicly assigned blame to any particular vulnerability, methodology, or perpetrator.
$464M Protection Fund Covers Reported Loss
Bitget reported that its User Protection Fund holds more than $464 million, outstripping the estimated $351.6 million impacted by the event by upwards of $112 million.
The exchange stated that the entire loss is absorbed by the fund, confirming that its three-tier wallet architecture successfully restricted the breach to the hot and warm wallet layers.
Cold wallets are completely secure, according to Bitget. The company also reiterated that customer account balances are accurate and user assets remain safe. Withdrawals will restart once the security assessment concludes.
Bitget intends to release hourly updates through its official communication channels and promised a comprehensive incident report—including a root cause analysis and preventative measures—within 24 hours.
Bitget Joins a Run of Recent Crypto Security Incidents
This occurrence comes on the heels of multiple notable events across the crypto security sector. On Sept. 19, The Coin Republic revealed that North Korea-linked activity known as WaterPlum compromised over 30,000 devices across more than 100 countries and regions between December 2025 and July 2026.
Authorities disclosed that data tied to more than 7,000 crypto wallets was compromised, while controlled wallets gathered at least $10.71 million in cryptocurrency.
Revolut also drew scrutiny earlier in September after hackers allegedly exposed customer data and demanded a 10,000 BTC ransom, as reported by The Coin Republic. Other recent incidents stem from direct protocol exploits. On Aug. 31, Cronos stopped block production following an assault targeting the Tectonic lending protocol.
Independent researcher Weilin Li estimated that roughly $75 million in assets were impacted, with about $60 million staying on Cronos after stake participant that proposes and attests to blocks using bonded collateral.">validators halted further block creation. Maya Protocol suffered a separate breach on Aug. 18 when an attacker exploited six interconnected software vulnerabilities.
The Coin Republic noted approximately $1.7 million in losses caused by the attacker alongside the withdrawal of 48.87 million CACAO following pool accounting manipulation. The Bitget exchange incident stands apart in both its scale and architecture, as the exchange has acknowledged the reported loss while investigations into the exact mechanics of the unauthorized transfer proceed.
FAQ
- How much was lost in the Bitget security breach?
Bitget confirmed a security breach totaling approximately $351.6 million. - Are user funds safe on Bitget?
Yes, Bitget stated that user account balances and assets are protected, and its $464 million-plus User Protection Fund fully covers the losses. - Can users currently withdraw funds from Bitget?
No, withdrawals have been temporarily suspended during the investigation, though deposits and trading continue normally. - When will Bitget release a full report on the hack?
Bitget stated that a comprehensive incident report, including a root cause analysis, will be published within 24 hours.
