North Korean Hackers Linked to $388M Bitget Crypto Exchange Theft: CEO

According to Bitcoin Magazine, crypto exchange Bitget was targeted by North Korean hackers who made away with nearly $388 million in digital assets. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that the higher figure reflects a more complete accounting of transfers during the incident, after initially reporting over $350 million had been moved. Security firms first flagged unauthorized transactions from the Victoria, Seychelles-based exchange's hot wallets on Thursday, prompting the company to freeze withdrawals.

Chen wrote on X that IP behavior patterns and on-chain analysis indicate the attack method is highly consistent with known patterns of North Korean hacker organizations. The exchange identified the stolen assets as mostly including ethereum, tron, and USDT stablecoin, with no bitcoin, though a stolen funds tracker shows the attacker holding over $28.8 million in bitcoin. Security firms and experts have noted that crypto-stealing criminals, particularly from North Korea, have become more sophisticated and faster through the use of artificial intelligence tools. U.S. authorities have long alleged that government-linked North Korean hacking groups steal from crypto exchanges.