Bitget Restores Withdrawals as Protection Fund Hits $309M
Bitget's CEO Gracy Chen announced on X that the exchange has restored access to withdrawals for all tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USDt (USDT). This comes after a security breach that led to the loss of $388 million in user funds. The exchange had previously frozen these assets due to the breach.
The company's Protection Fund, which was established in January 2022 with 5,500 BTC, has reached $309 million. Chen stated that this fund 'absorbed the financial impact of the incident,' indicating its intended purpose as a rapid-response buffer for potential losses not resulting from user or platform misconduct.
Bitget's recovery efforts also include a bounty program, which offered 5% of the frozen funds and 5% for any recovered funds. Chen mentioned that the exchange has not ruled out potential responsible parties, including an inside job or North Korean-linked activity, indicating ongoing investigation into the breach.