THORChain Refuses to Block Hacker Wallets Amid $387.5M Bitget Hack

THORChain, a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, has declined to block Bitget's hacker wallets following a massive $387.5 million hack of the exchange. The breach occurred on September 25 and initially appeared to be around $352 million, but estimates have since risen. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said stolen assets included ETH, XRP, BNB, AVAX, and stablecoins across various chains.

The attack method is highly consistent with known patterns of North Korean hacker organizations, security firms rate the attribution as highly likely, although it remains officially unconfirmed. GoPlus Security, a blockchain security firm, said about 101.5 BTC, worth roughly $8.5 million, and approximately 27.63 million XRP, worth around $43 million, moved through THORChain during the incident.

Bitget formally requested that THORChain refuse service to the attacker addresses, but the protocol refused, citing its decentralized nature. 'Decentralization is a design principle, not a shield for facilitating known stolen funds,' Chen wrote in her request. THORChain responded by stating it would not block the funds, comparing itself to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain.

Supporters of the protocol argue that blocking specific transactions would compromise its neutrality and turn validators into compliance officers. In a follow-up post, THORChain clarified that a network halt is an emergency security mechanism built to protect the protocol, not a selective freeze of funds or swaps.