$352 Million Heist Suspected: North Korea Linked To Bitget Crypto Hack
CEO Gracy Chen cites VPN IP patterns in investigation.
The digital asset exchange Bitget is facing a security breach that has potentially drained $351.6 million from its digital vaults. During the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, China, CEO Gracy Chen identified North Korean actors as the prime suspects for this exploit. She described the incident as a calculated operation rather than a random glitch, pointing to specific technical indicators during a livestream on X.
Chen said investigators have identified internet protocol addresses linked to VPN services previously used by a North Korean hacking group. The pattern of the attack mirrors earlier operations attributed to the nation, suggesting a continuation of state-sponsored cyber activity in the crypto markets. This attribution is based on preliminary evidence from an ongoing investigation into the unauthorized transfer of assets.
The breach specifically targeted hot and warm wallet infrastructure, leaving cold wallets untouched. Attackers exploited a critical backend wallet system to spoof transfer information and trigger the authorization-signing process. This allowed for 19 unauthorized transfers involving ether, XRP, USDT, USDC, Avalanche and BNB across the Ethereum, XRP Ledger, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain and Arbitrum networks. On-chain estimates initially put the outflows at about $183 million, but Bitget confirmed those figures did not capture activity across all affected blockchains.
The exchange’s security team has contained the breach, with private key compromise ruled out as a factor. This technical distinction means the core infrastructure remains secure enough to resume normal operations shortly. The company maintains that customer balances are accurate and that the loss is fully covered by its User Protection Fund, which holds more than $464 million. Meanwhile, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou offered assistance, noting his team is updating a platform to trace funds following Bybit's own $1.5 billion hack in February 2025.
Withdrawals remain suspended while technical teams repair and reinforce the affected systems, though deposits and trading continue normally. Gracy Chen declined to commit to a firm timetable but estimated that withdrawals could return within hours or days, a reasonable timeline for a contained backend issue that does not involve core key infrastructure. First reported by CNBC: Finance.
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