A Bitget Exchange wallet security breach has affected approximately $351.6 million in crypto after unauthorized transfers were detected from some of the exchange’s hot wallets. The incident was initially identified through unusual on-chain movements exceeding $170 million, involving ETH, USDT, USDC, AVAX, and BNB transferred to a single receiving address.
The incident began drawing attention after blockchain monitoring showed assets leaving several Bitget-labeled wallets and moving toward another address. The receiving wallet subsequently swapped several assets on-chain. At that stage, it was unclear whether the transfers reflected an attack or an internal operation, while users also reported difficulties with withdrawals.
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Bitget Exchange Wallet Confirms Unauthorized Wallet Transfers
The Bitget wallet confirmed that its security system flagged the transactions as unauthorized at 18:31 UTC on September 24. The CEO of Bitget, Gracy Chen, said that the company instantly began implementing their emergency procedure following the detection of unusual activity. The exchange estimated that approximately $351.6 million in funds were affected across portions of its hot and warm wallet infrastructure.
Bitget said its cold wallets are still safe and that this event did not affect its entire wallet architecture. The company further clarified that the customer balances are correct and that no user funds are at risk of losing anything. Currently, deposits and trading are functioning, but withdrawal services have been stopped until further notice.
The disparity between the first on-chain calculation and Bitget’s latest figures is due to the evolving nature of this problem. While initial monitoring showed more than $170 million in transactions from Bitget-labeled wallets, some additional transactions were counted in Bitget’s report on this event.
Onchain Activity Shows Large Asset Movements
It was discovered with the help of the blockchain that there were several types of digital assets that were transferred, such as Ether, USDT, USDC, AVAX, and BNB. The receiving address started trading the assets, which left a trace of transactions on the blockchain that could be followed by security companies and blockchain analysts.
A security company called Hacken reported that Bitcoin was withdrawn from the Bitget Exchange wallet. Bitcoin became one more cryptocurrency that has been linked to the incident. The report came while blockchain researchers were still assessing the scale and destination of the transfers, before Bitget publicly disclosed its $351.6 million estimate.
Hacken also provided additional security context, saying approximately $100 million was reportedly affected. The security firm identified USDT, ETH, BTC, AVAX, BNB, and other assets among the reported movements. It also cited user reports of blocked withdrawals and said assets were moving from a Bitget cold wallet during the developing incident.
Withdrawals Remain Suspended During Investigation
The exchange has temporarily suspended withdrawals as a preventive measure until the completion of the investigation by the security team regarding the issue. Deposits and trading are both functioning; there is only an issue with withdrawals.
Bitget has marked the abnormal transfer addresses and notified the relevant law enforcement agencies and on-chain security firms. The company mentioned that it will be providing updates at hourly intervals and that it will publish a comprehensive incident report regarding the attack vector within 24 hours.
The attack vector has not been revealed yet. Bitget stated that it will not speculate regarding the attack vector prior to the completion of the investigation process. There are still many unanswered questions regarding how the unauthorized transfer was approved, what system was accessed, and if any other wallets could be impacted as well.
Protection Fund Covers Reported Loss
According to Bitget, the estimated $351.6 million loss is included in their User Protection Fund that holds over $464 million. Hence, Bitget claims that the reported loss is entirely covered by their fund. Furthermore, they claim that user balances will be safe despite the unauthorized withdrawal from affected wallet infrastructure.
This latest news comes after a year of heightened concerns about crypto security as major wallet and infrastructure hacks result in the exposure of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets. However, for Bitget users, the immediate concern is the suspension of withdrawals until Bitget finds out how this happened and traces any transfers.
The next step in this process will depend on Bitget’s investigation and incident report. Users will also have to wait until Bitget resumes withdrawals, takes more on-chain actions, and finds the source of the problem. Until then, the only known facts are a $351.6 million estimate of affected assets, an unauthorized transfer, a withdrawal suspension, and secure cold wallets.
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