Crypto-asset exchange Bitget said in a September 26 notice that it would begin resuming withdrawals in stages on September 28 after suspending them because of a hack. At 00:00 UTC on September 24, crypto assets were transferred without authorization from wallets managed by the exchange, prompting Bitget to halt withdrawals. The company later estimated the loss at approximately $387.5 million.
Bitcoin withdrawals are scheduled to resume on September 28. Ethereum withdrawals are set to follow on September 29 and withdrawals of the dollar stablecoin USDT on September 30, in each case on the networks specified in the notice. Other tokens, fiat services, and peer-to-peer trading are scheduled to return from October 2. Each service is due to resume at 5 p.m. Korea Standard Time on the relevant date. Deposits and trading have continued while withdrawals were suspended.
According to Bitget, the attacker compromised an internal wallet-processing system, altered asset-transfer information, and caused Bitget's approval process to authorize the transfers. The company said its investigation to date has ruled out the possibility that private keys were compromised. Bitget said the impact was limited to parts of its hot wallets, which handle online deposits and withdrawals, and warm wallets, which add security controls to online functions. Cold wallets, whose private keys are kept offline, and the separate self-custodial Bitget Wallet were not affected.
In its initial notice after the incident, Bitget put the size of its user Protection Fund at more than $464 million. It said the loss was within the fund's coverage and that user account balances were unaffected.
The company said it identified and addressed the vulnerability used in the incident. Security firms Mandiant and SlowMist are assisting with the investigation and fund tracing. Some of the stolen assets have been frozen through industry cooperation, and Bitget also established a bounty program offering 5% of the amount frozen or recovered to eligible parties who voluntarily help with freezing or recovery.