Bitget CEO says she is 'not very optimistic' on recovering $388 million stolen in hack

Bitget CEO doubts stolen $388 million will be fully recovered

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen has said she is "not very optimistic" about freezing or recovering all the crypto taken in a security breach at her exchange last week. The attack cost the platform $388 million in digital assets.

Speaking on Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction podcast, released Tuesday, Chen pointed to the February 2025 hack of rival exchange Bybit as a guide. Bybit lost about $1.5 billion in Ether and has only managed to freeze and recover a combined $80 million so far.

Key numbers

• $388 million lost in the Bitget breach, updated from an earlier estimate of $352 million after a fuller review of transfers.
• Bybit's 2025 hack: about $1.5 billion stolen, with roughly 3.5% frozen after a year, according to Chen.
• Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle blacklisted a linked wallet, freezing $318,013 in USDT and USDC. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold a steady value.
• NEAR Intents reported blocking more than $50 million in assets tied to the attack and freezing about $500,000.
• Bitget is offering a bounty of 5% of frozen funds and 5% of recovered funds.

Who may be behind the attack

Chen said shortly after the breach that North Korea may have been responsible, based on IP addresses matching VPN choices used by a North Korean group. However, she said Bitget had not totally ruled out an inside job at first, and later said preliminary investigation results ruled out that possibility. She stressed the investigation is complicated and still needs thorough work.

Withdrawals resuming in stages

Bitget suspended withdrawals after the attack and has now begun restoring them in stages. Bitcoin withdrawals resumed on Monday, followed by Ethereum withdrawals on Tuesday.

What is confirmed

Confirmed by the source: the amount lost ($388 million), the bounty program, the fund freezes by NEAR Intents, Tether, and Circle, and the staged return of withdrawals. The identity of the attackers remains unconfirmed and is based on Chen's preliminary assessment.

Why it matters

The breach is one of the largest crypto industry hacks of 2026, following a $320 million exploit of the Liquid Network in September. Major past attacks include Bybit's 2025 hack, the $615 million Ronin Bridge hack in 2022, and the $611 million Poly Network hack in 2021. Chen's comparison with Bybit suggests that recovering stolen crypto is often slow and rarely complete.

Sources

• Cointelegraph

Read also: NEAR Intents Blocks $50 Million in Stolen Bitget Funds, Testing 'Permissionless' Claims