Bitget's $352 million hack happened via spoofed transfers, not private keys, CEO Gray Chen says
Bitget lost $351.6 million after attackers compromised a wallet backend, spoofed transaction data, Chen said on X.
Crypto exchange Bitget lost $351.6 million in an overnight hack. CEO Gracy Chen said attackers faked transfer requests to drain funds but did not steal “private keys.”
“The attacker compromised a critical backend system within our wallet infrastructure, used it to spoof transaction data, and triggered our authorization process to move funds out,” Chen wrote on X. “Private key compromise has been ruled out.”
That distinction matters and points to a less alarming attack vector. Private key hacks have driven some of the industry's biggest losses.
The breach surfaced when Bitget’s systems flagged unauthorized transfers from some exchange hot wallets at 18:31 UTC on Sept. 24. A hot wallet stays connected to the internet so funds can move quickly. For an exchange, it is a temporary liquidity hub, analogous to an online cash drawer that handles instant trades, deposits, and withdrawals.