Bitget Hacker Converts Stolen USDC into ETH, Renewing Freeze Questions

A hacker has stolen an estimated $351.6 million from Bitget after breaching the exchange's security systems, prompting renewed questions about Circle's freeze policy and its ability to block transfers tied to illicit activity.

The attack was detected at 18:31 UTC on September 24, with several assets affected, including USDC, XRP, and ETH. The hacker has since converted some of the stolen USDC into ETH, raising concerns about Circle's response time in freezing funds linked to attacks.

Security researcher Taylor Monahan pointed out that the attacker used USDC during the conversion process, which cannot be reversed or recalled once initiated. Monahan questioned why the funds remained movable despite Circle's ability to block transfers from specific USDC addresses.