Confidence provides more to the conversation than wit. On a crypto exchange, trust above all provides liquidity, and Bitget has just measured the price. Thursday, September 24, 6:31 p.m. UTC, funds leave its hot wallets without authorization. A few hours later, the platform confirmed $351.6 million received and suspended withdrawals.
The exchange ensures that its customers are fully covered. The blockchain, for the moment, only shows part of the bill.
Key Points
Bitget confirms approximately $351.6 million in unauthorized transfers from its hot and warm wallets on September 24, 2026 at 6:31 p.m. UTC.
Bitget suspends withdrawals. Deposits and trading remain open.
According to the exchange, its User Protection Fund fully covers the loss. This fund is endowed with more than 464 million dollars.
On the blockchain, analysts have only traced around $170-190 million at this point.
Bitget hack, what the exchange recognizes in black and white
First source, the most solid. In a notice published on its help center, Bitget dates the incident to September 24, 2026 at 6:31 p.m. UTC, or 8:31 p.m. in Paris. The platform speaks of “unauthorized transfers” detected on its hot and warm wallet layers.
Small translation. A hot wallet is a wallet permanently connected to the internet. It is he who pays your withdrawals on a daily basis. The warm wallet serves as an airlock, less exposed, and recharges the first. The cold wallet, stored offline, keeps the bulk of the reserves.
The official amount is one line. Bitget mentions approximately $351.6 million in funds involved. Its notice does not detail the list of affected assets.
As an immediate consequence, Bitget freezes withdrawals during the security audit. Deposits and trading are operating normally. So you can still buy and sell on the platform. Getting your cryptos out will wait.
Bitget hack: what its general director promises
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, spoke on X immediately. His message is contained in three statements. Cold wallets are intact. The entire loss falls within the scope of the User Protection Fund, the exchange's user protection fund, which holds "more than $464 million." Deposits and trading remain open. The leader promises to account for “every dollar and every decision”, “with complete transparency”. However, she refuses to speculate on the attack vector before the end of the investigation.
Bloomberg reported on these elements on Thursday evening, under the headline “Bitget says $351 million affected by breach and suspends withdrawals”. Do the math. The fund absorbs the shock with a margin of around $112 million. On paper.
“At 6:31 p.m. UTC on September 24, 2026, Bitget's security systems detected unauthorized transfers from some of our hot wallets. […] Estimated funds involved: approximately $351.6 million.
Cold wallets remain completely secure. […] User funds are safe. The entirety of this loss falls within the scope of Bitget's User Protection Fund, which currently holds over $464 million.
A full incident report, including cause analysis and corrective measures, will be published within 24 hours. We will not speculate on the attack vector until the investigation is complete.
Bitget has gone through several market cycles. We will not run away. Every dollar and every decision will be justified, transparently and in full.”
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, on
On the blockchain, the Bitget hack weighs half as much
On the channel side, the investigators did not wait for the press release. Bubblemaps, Arkham analysts and the DCF GOD account spotted the first suspicious movements Thursday evening. The scenario is known. A brand new address receives a test transfer of 0.84 ETH, then the exits follow one another at a pace that leaves little doubt of premeditation.
According to Unchained, which relies on an Arkham tracker grouping 13 linked addresses, approximately $183.8 million left Bitget wallets across six networks. The basket is heterogeneous. There are nearly 48,800 ETH, USDT, USDC, 821,012 AVAX, BNB and 3,000 XAUT, the gold-backed Tether token. Unchained also mentions “cold” wallets among the emptied addresses. Bitget claims the opposite. The report will have to decide.
The attacker played with speed. According to Decrypt, the hacker converted $19.67 million in USDT0 into 7,111 ETH in six minutes, via UniswapX and 1inch Fusion, at a premium of around 5% over the market price. Paying more to go faster is the reflex of anyone who fears that their stablecoins will be frozen by the issuer. Funds then flow from one chain to another via the Stargate and cBridge bridges.
Bitget hack: why the amounts diverge
There remains the gap. Bitget reports $351.6 million. On-chain counts oscillate between 170 and 190 million depending on the trackers and the time of the reading. Almost from single to double. Several leads are circulating, without official confirmation: addresses not yet identified, assets on less monitored chains, or a valuation of tokens different from that of the exchange. Until Bitget publishes its report, the reference figure remains Bitget's, and the amount visible on the blockchain acts as a provisional floor.
