Bitget CEO Expresses Doubts on Recovering $388 Million from Security Breach
Gracy Chen, the CEO of crypto exchange Bitget, has voiced her doubts about the company's ability to recover all assets compromised in a recent security breach that led to a loss of $388 million in cryptocurrency. Speaking on Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction, Chen referred to the February 2025 hack of Bybit as a relevant example, highlighting that only a small fraction of the stolen funds were ever frozen or recovered.
In her comments, Chen stated, "I’m actually not very optimistic because after a year or so of Bybit’s hack, they’ve only been able to freeze about 3.5% of the total stolen funds." This perspective underscores the challenges faced by exchanges in securing and recovering assets after such incidents.
In response to the breach, Bitget has launched a bounty program, offering a 5% reward for funds that are frozen and an additional 5% for those that are recovered. Some companies have already taken steps to mitigate user losses. For instance, the NEAR Intents team reported that they had blocked over $50 million in assets related to the attack and managed to freeze approximately $500,000.
Actions Taken by Major Players
Additionally, stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle have acted by blacklisting a wallet associated with the breach, successfully freezing $318,013 in USDt and USDC. This incident marks one of the largest security breaches in the crypto sector in 2026, following a $320 million exploit of the Liquid Network in September.
Final Assessment
Initially, Bitget reported that the exchange had suspended withdrawals after losing $352 million in digital assets during the attack. However, Chen later updated the figures, indicating that the total loss amounted to $388 million. She also speculated on the potential perpetrators of the breach, suggesting that North Korea might be involved, based on IP addresses linked to a specific group from the country. Nevertheless, she noted that the possibility of an inside job had not been entirely ruled out.
Bitget has begun to resume withdrawals for users in stages, starting with Bitcoin transactions on Monday and continuing with Ethereum transactions on Tuesday. This gradual approach aims to restore normal operations while addressing the fallout from the breach.
