Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has confirmed a security breach resulting in the loss of roughly $351 million, prompting the platform to temporarily halt customer withdrawals as it investigates the incident.
What Happened
According to the exchange, unauthorized transfers affected a limited number of its hot wallets — the internet-connected accounts used to facilitate everyday trading and transactions. Bitget emphasized that its cold storage wallets, which hold the bulk of customer assets offline, were not compromised in the attack.
The company said the majority of assets on its platform remained secure, seeking to reassure users amid mounting concern across the crypto community. Withdrawals were suspended as a precautionary measure while the exchange assesses the full scope of the breach and strengthens its security systems.
Bitget insists that cold wallets and most platform assets were untouched, even as hackers made off with hundreds of millions.
Conflicting Reports and Response
Early reports had pegged the losses at a lower figure of around $178 million, but the exchange has since confirmed a far larger total. Bitget initially described some of the circulating claims about the security incident and withdrawal freeze as unverified before acknowledging the scale of the damage.
The breach adds to a growing list of high-profile attacks targeting centralized exchanges and their hot wallet infrastructure. Such wallets remain a persistent vulnerability because they must stay connected to the internet to process transactions quickly.
Key points from the incident include:
- Approximately $351 million in unauthorized transfers
- Only a limited number of hot wallets affected
- Cold wallets and most user assets reported safe
- Withdrawals temporarily suspended pending investigation
Bitget has pledged to provide updates as its investigation continues, though it has not yet detailed a timeline for restoring full withdrawal services or specified how affected users will be compensated.