📢 Bitget Says Suspected North Korean Hackers Stole $351.6M After Backend Compromise
Bitget claims that customer funds remain safe, but we must be clear about what that actually implies.
Exchange hot wallets are generally used to handle customer withdrawals. For instance, if a user withdraws $10M in cryptocurrency, those funds almost always come directly from a hot wallet, which the exchange refillingly tops up from cold storage when necessary. This process is how exchanges ensure withdrawal liquidity. Therefore, the compromised wallets are part of the core system used to store and move customer assets.
Bitget maintains that its protection fund will absorb the loss. This means the exchange intends to prevent customers from suffering financial losses, not that its wallets were untouched. However, while its official coverage limit is set at $464M USD, the stolen amount has already hit $350M USD. Regrettably, no independent audit verifies that Bitget actually possesses the full $464M USD reserve, and it remains uncertain whether the exploit has stopped or if other unrecorded wallets have also been compromised.
To keep users completely whole, Bitget must absorb these losses using its own reserves. Ultimately, the major concern is whether Bitget will have sufficient liquidity to honor every user's payout once withdrawals begin reopening in phases.
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Bitget claims that customer funds remain safe, but we must be clear about what that actually implies.
Exchange hot wallets are generally used to handle customer withdrawals. For instance, if a user withdraws $10M in cryptocurrency, those funds almost always come directly from a hot wallet, which the exchange refillingly tops up from cold storage when necessary. This process is how exchanges ensure withdrawal liquidity. Therefore, the compromised wallets are part of the core system used to store and move customer assets.
Bitget maintains that its protection fund will absorb the loss. This means the exchange intends to prevent customers from suffering financial losses, not that its wallets were untouched. However, while its official coverage limit is set at $464M USD, the stolen amount has already hit $350M USD. Regrettably, no independent audit verifies that Bitget actually possesses the full $464M USD reserve, and it remains uncertain whether the exploit has stopped or if other unrecorded wallets have also been compromised.
To keep users completely whole, Bitget must absorb these losses using its own reserves. Ultimately, the major concern is whether Bitget will have sufficient liquidity to honor every user's payout once withdrawals begin reopening in phases.
$USDT $USDC