Stablecoin Issuers Freeze Stolen Assets Without Legal Request for First Time

A recent hack on Bitget has led to a notable shift in how stablecoin issuers respond to stolen assets. In this case, Circle and Tether quickly froze over $300,000 in USDC and USDT linked to the attack, without waiting for a legal request.

This response contrasts with previous incidents, such as the Drift Protocol exploit in April 2026, where stolen USDC was moved through Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol. In that case, ZachXBT criticized Circle for not freezing the funds despite having several hours to act.

The latest Bitget incident suggests that stablecoin issuers are becoming quicker to respond when stolen assets enter centralized infrastructure. This shift in approach may be attributed to the consequences of allowing large amounts of stolen USDC to move across chains, as seen in the Drift hack.