Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget detected an unauthorized asset transfer on Thursday, with the hacked amount reaching $357 million. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic released a report stating that the laundering route and on-chain data of this attack point to the North Korea–linked hacker group “TraderTraitor.” This cybersecurity incident has brought the total value of digital assets stolen this year by the North Korean hacker group to about $1.2 billion. After the incident, Bitget promptly suspended withdrawals and emphasized that offline cold wallets were not affected. CEO Gracy Chen later explained that the $464 million user protection fund established by the platform is sufficient to fully cover this loss. The exchange has also begun an investigation together with its cybersecurity team, and Bitget is currently working hard to restore withdrawals. It plans to announce this at 4:00 a.m. on September 26 (UTC), which is 12:00 p.m. in Taiwan time.

(Bitget hacked for $351 million; the official protection fund was fully paid out and withdrawals were temporarily suspended)

Bitget hacked for $357 million; money-laundering routes point to North Korea

The cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has confirmed that unauthorized transfers of funds occurred from its wallets. The affected assets include multiple tokens, and the loss is estimated at about $357 million. Elliptic, a blockchain data analytics company, said that after the attackers succeeded, they quickly exchanged tokens and transferred assets across chains. Its money-laundering method closely matches the characteristics of the North Korean hacking group “TraderTraitor,” as there is a high overlap with on-chain addresses being tracked, and some of the funds are linked to addresses from previous hacking attacks, including last year’s record $1.5 billion theft from crypto exchange Bybit.

North Korean hackers stole a total of $1.2 billion in digital assets this year

According to Elliptic’s statistics, North Korea–linked hacker organizations have been involved in more than 50 digital-asset cybersecurity incidents this year, with total stolen funds reaching about $1.2 billion. Over the past decade, despite international sanctions, the North Korean regime has continued to view cryptocurrency firms as an important channel for obtaining funds. Since 2017, it has transferred billions of dollars in digital assets. Analysts point out that in recent years, hackers have also increasingly adopted new technologies such as artificial intelligence, causing the complexity of cross-chain attacks and vulnerability exploitation to continue rising.

The user protection fund fully covers the losses and initiates an external investigation

Regarding the loss of funds in this incident, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said that the user protection fund, which has a planned size of US$464 million, can fully cover the $357 million asset shortfall, ensuring that users’ rights and interests are not affected. The official also emphasized that the cold wallets where the assets are mainly stored are operating safely, and that Bitget had already suspended withdrawals when the incident occurred to block further risk. Currently, Bitget is working together with cybersecurity firms Mandiant and SlowMist to trace the source of the attack and details of the vulnerabilities. Gracy Chen said Bitget is now doing everything possible to prepare to resume withdrawals, and plans to announce this on September 26 at 4:00 a.m. (UTC), which is 12:00 noon Taiwan time.

This article says Bitget was hacked for $357 million, and on-chain data points to North Korean hackers; it first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.