Bitget, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed that it suffered a significant security breach resulting in the unauthorized transfer of approximately $351.6 million from its wallet system. The incident was detected on September 24, 2026, when the exchange's system alerted them to suspicious transactions.

According to Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget, the attack involved 19 unauthorized transactions originating from both hot and warm wallets. Hot wallets are connected to the internet for quick transactions, while warm wallets serve as intermediaries between hot and cold wallets, which store assets offline to mitigate the risk of remote attacks. Fortunately, Bitget reported that its cold wallet remained unaffected by the breach.

The compromised assets included popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Binance Coin (BNB), Avalanche (AVAX), Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC). In response to the incident, Bitget has temporarily suspended withdrawals while continuing deposit and trading operations. Chen stated that the exchange has taken measures to prevent further unauthorized transfers and will only resume withdrawals once security checks are completed.

Bitget reassured its users that the account balances remain accurate and that the entire loss falls within the coverage of its User Protection Fund, which exceeds $464 million. Initial investigations suggest that the attackers infiltrated a critical system within the wallet infrastructure, generating fake transaction data to bypass approval processes. Chen emphasized that the possibility of a stolen private key has been ruled out, indicating that the attackers did not directly access the wallet.

As of now, Bitget has not disclosed how the attackers gained access to its system, leaving the technical cause of the breach pending further investigation. According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, approximately $183 million of the stolen assets have been converted to Ethereum, reflecting only the recorded value of converted assets, not the total loss.

Established in 2018, Bitget has grown rapidly, particularly following the collapse of the FTX exchange in 2022, which led many traders to migrate to operational exchanges. The $351.6 million loss represents about three-quarters of the total value of the User Protection Fund. Esme Pau, a market and policy expert at blockchain security firm CertiK, noted that this incident is one of the most significant attacks on centralized exchanges in 2026, highlighting the severity of the situation while noting that the exchange is still capable of covering the losses.