Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that the exchange may not fully recover assets stolen in a security breach resulting in approximately $388 million in losses. Chen referenced the February 2025 Bybit hack, where only 3.5% of $1.5 billion in stolen Ether was frozen after a year, to illustrate the difficulty of asset retrieval. Bitget has launched a bounty program offering 5% of frozen or recovered funds to aid identification efforts.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle blacklisted a wallet linked to the exploit, freezing around $318,013 in USDT and USDC, while NEAR Intents blocked over $50 million in related assets. The initial loss report of $352 million was updated to $388 million after reviewing additional transfers. Chen noted that North Korea-linked actors are among those being investigated, though an internal compromise was ruled out by preliminary findings. Withdrawals for Bitcoin and Ether have resumed in stages.
The comparison between Bitget’s current situation and the Bybit precedent underscores a structural reality in crypto security: blockchain transparency facilitates tracing but does not guarantee recovery. Once attackers disperse funds across decentralized protocols and multiple wallets, the ability to freeze assets relies heavily on cooperation from centralized entities like stablecoin issuers and infrastructure providers. The minimal amount successfully frozen so far highlights the limitations of reactive measures against sophisticated, cross-chain laundering techniques.
This incident reinforces the critical importance of proactive security controls over post-breach response capabilities. For institutional adoption to mature, exchanges must demonstrate robust wallet management and prevention mechanisms, as recovery odds remain statistically low. Market participants should watch for further developments in attribution, particularly regarding state-sponsored actors, and assess how regulatory frameworks evolve to mandate stricter compliance standards for asset movement detection.
