North Korean-Linked Hackers Steal $387.5 Million From Bitget Exchange

Bitget, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a massive cyber attack resulting in the theft of approximately $387.5 million in digital assets. The attackers breached Bitget's backend wallet service and forged transfer instructions to steal funds from various blockchain networks.

The exchange first estimated the loss at $351.6 million but increased it after discovering additional stolen assets on the Zcash and TRON networks. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham reported that attackers moved $228 million in 18 minutes, primarily in XRP, Ether, Tether, USD Coin, and Tether Gold.

Bitget's CEO Gracy Chen stated that customer balances and cold-wallet holdings remained intact, with the User Protection Fund holding over $464 million in assets. The exchange suspended withdrawals while completing security checks but allowed users to deposit funds and trade tokens.

Chen attributed the attack to a North Korean-linked operation based on IP behavior and on-chain transaction patterns. Investigators continue to track the stolen assets across various blockchains, with Bitget hiring Mandiant and SlowMist to investigate the intrusion method and produce a technical report.