Bitget resumes withdrawals in phases after $388 million exploit

Bitget began restoring withdrawals in stages after an exploit that drained around $388 million from the platform. BTC withdrawals on the Bitcoin network began at 8 a.m. UTC on Monday as scheduled. Bitget said each chain must pass security checks before withdrawals resume. ETH withdrawals on Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, Base and Optimism are scheduled to open on Sept. 29 at 8 a.m. UTC. USDT withdrawals on Ethereum, BSC, Solana and Tron are scheduled to resume at the same time the following day. Bitget said all remaining asset withdrawals, fiat withdrawals and P2P transactions will be restored on Oct. 2. Unauthorized transfers involving certain assets took place across multiple networks from Bitget's hot and warm wallet infrastructure at around 6:31 p.m. UTC on Sept. 24. Bitget said the attacker targeted a vulnerability in a third-party security product to obtain high-level internal credentials. Bitget said the attacker used those credentials to send fraudulent withdrawal commands that bypassed risk controls. Bitget said its private keys were not compromised. Bitget said user balances and cold wallets were not affected. Bitget said it patched the vulnerability and contained the incident. Bitget said there have been no further unauthorized transfers. Bitget confirmed the stolen assets totaled $388 million. Bitget said Mandiant and SlowMist are assisting with the investigation. Bitget said it will review how it assesses and deploys third-party security products. The $388 million loss made the exploit the largest reported crypto theft so far this year, above the exploits on KelpDAO and Drift Protocol. Bitget said its User Protection Fund, which holds 5,500 BTC, will fully cover losses from the incident. Bitget launched a bounty program that offers 5% of the amount successfully frozen to parties whose actions directly lead to attacker funds being frozen or recovered. Bitget said it would not speculate about the attackers' identity until the investigation reaches a firm conclusion. Bitget described the attackers as sophisticated and state-backed and said they know how to obscure stolen funds. Bitget previously told media that it suspects North Korea was behind the attack.