Bitget Rebuilds Protection Fund After $388 Million Hack, but Questions Remain About Exchange Safety

A major cryptocurrency exchange, Bitget, was hacked on September 24, 2026, resulting in the loss of approximately $388 million in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. The hackers exploited vulnerabilities in third-party software and stole internal login credentials to drain the exchange's hot and warm wallets, while cold wallets remained secure.

Bitget's Protection Fund, which is a fund set aside to cover events like hacks, was depleted to around $200 million after absorbing the losses. However, by September 30, the fund had been replenished to $309 million, covering all customer losses without passing costs to users.

The stolen funds were laundered through various blockchains, including THORChain and Zcash's privacy pool, making it difficult for investigators to track the stolen coins. Only $821,000 of the stolen funds were frozen by investigators.

The incident highlights the importance of exchange security and the reliance on their reserves to cover customer losses. Bitget's proof of reserves showed that it had 131% coverage overall, including 142% for Bitcoin and 110% for Ethereum, indicating that it had sufficient assets to back its customer balances.