Bitget CEO Gracy Chen has expressed doubt about the likelihood of recovering the bulk of the funds lost in a recent $388 million security breach, pointing to the industry's poor track record with large-scale crypto thefts.
A Sobering Outlook
Chen said she is "not very optimistic" about clawing back the stolen assets, drawing comparisons to the massive 2025 Bybit hack that she described as a useful benchmark for assessing recovery prospects. In that incident, only a fraction of the compromised funds were ever frozen or returned to their rightful owners.
Her candid assessment reflects a broader reality across the cryptocurrency sector, where sophisticated attackers frequently move and launder stolen assets faster than exchanges and law enforcement can respond. Once funds are dispersed through mixing services and cross-chain bridges, tracing and freezing them becomes exceedingly difficult.
"Only a small percentage of funds tend to be frozen or recovered once they're gone."
Lessons From Bybit
By invoking the Bybit breach as a reference point, Chen underscored how even the largest and most resourceful exchanges struggle to retrieve stolen crypto. The Bybit episode stood as one of the most significant security failures in the industry, and its aftermath offered a cautionary tale about the limits of post-hack recovery efforts.
The comparison suggests Bitget is bracing for a difficult road ahead as it attempts to trace the movement of the missing funds and coordinate with partners across the ecosystem.
What It Means for Users
For platform users and the wider market, Chen's remarks are a reminder of the persistent security challenges facing centralized exchanges. Key takeaways from the situation include:
- Recovery rates for major crypto breaches remain historically low
- Speed of attacker response often outpaces exchange and law enforcement action
- Industry collaboration on freezing funds is critical but frequently insufficient
Despite the grim assessment, exchanges typically continue pursuing recovery through blockchain forensics and partnerships with other platforms, even when the odds of a full return remain slim.