North Korea-Linked Hackers Steal $387.5 Million from Bitget Exchange

Bitget, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has been hit by a massive hacking incident that may be linked to North Korean state-backed hackers. The attackers exploited Bitget's backend wallet system and made off with $387.5 million in various cryptocurrencies.

The breach occurred on Thursday afternoon when abnormal transfers were detected from several hot wallets. According to CEO Gracy Chen, the attackers forged transfer approvals inside a backend system that processes wallet transactions.

Bitget said the attackers converted stablecoins into Ether through decentralized exchanges within minutes of the theft, avoiding blacklists and freeze requests. The stolen assets included Ether, XRP, USDT, USDC, Avalanche, BNB, and tokenized gold, which were split among dozens of new wallets to complicate recovery.

The incident has raised concerns about exchange security, highlighting weaknesses in backend wallet controls and cross-chain monitoring. Bitget's User Protection Fund will cover the full loss, but users may face delayed withdrawals while deposits and trading continued uninterrupted.