Bitget CEO says North Korea may be behind $351.6 million hack

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said North Korean hackers may be behind the exchange's $351.6 million security breach. Chen cited preliminary findings that linked IP addresses to VPN services associated with a DPRK hacking group. Chen said investigators found similarities with previous North Korean attacks. Chen said Bitget did not believe the breach was an inside job. Chen said hackers breached Bitget's systems and transferred funds directly. Chen said the hackers did not forge user withdrawal requests. Chen said the hackers did not obtain private keys for the exchange's cold, hot, or warm wallets. Investigators were still determining which systems were compromised. Investigators were still determining how the attackers gained access. Bitget reported unauthorized transfers affecting portions of its hot and warm wallet infrastructure on Thursday. Withdrawals remained suspended at the time of publication. Chen said some stolen funds had been recovered without specifying an amount. Chen said Bitget was working with blockchain foundations and other partners on recovery efforts. North Korean hackers were linked to an estimated $2.02 billion in crypto theft in 2025. The total included the roughly $1.5 billion Bybit exchange hack. The FBI attributed the Bybit hack to North Korea.