Crypto Exchange Bitget Exploited for $351.6 Million as Hacker Swaps Funds for Ethereum

Crypto exchange Bitget has confirmed a security breach totaling $351.6 million, after attackers drained several of the platform's hot wallets, moved the stolen assets across multiple blockchains, and converted stablecoins into Ethereum in a burst of rapid transactions.

The incident was disclosed in a report published on September 24, 2026. The story was first covered by CoinGape in its initial report on the exploit and subsequently carried by CryptoNewsNet's security section.

According to the report, the attackers emptied several hot wallets belonging to the exchange before dispersing the proceeds through cross-chain transfers. Funds held in stablecoins were exchanged for Ethereum during the same rapid sequence of transactions — a pattern commonly used to complicate asset tracing and freezing efforts in the aftermath of exchange exploits. Freezing stolen crypto typically requires coordinated action across exchanges and blockchain analytics firms, and rapid cross-chain dispersal can complicate exactly that kind of coordination.

Hot wallets are internet-connected wallets that exchanges operate to process customer withdrawals and maintain liquidity, which makes them frequent targets for attackers. Because platforms generally keep only a fraction of client assets in online wallets and hold the remainder in offline cold storage, the total exposure in such incidents depends on how much was held in the compromised wallets at the time of the attack. Cross-chain movement and the conversion of stablecoins into other digital assets are recurring features of exchange breaches.

The size of the loss places the incident among the larger exploits to hit a cryptocurrency exchange, a category of events that has historically driven industry-wide scrutiny of hot wallet controls, key management, and reserve transparency.

Bitget, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Seychelles, is one of the world's larger cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges and is widely known for its copy-trading services. The report did not specify which assets were taken, what proportion of Bitget's total holdings was affected, or whether customer withdrawals were disrupted, leaving those as open questions for follow-up disclosures. Because blockchain transactions are publicly traceable, security researchers and affected platforms typically monitor the flow of stolen funds in the hours and days after a breach, and movements toward exchange or swap-service addresses can occasionally lead to assets being frozen — developments that readers tracking this incident will want to watch.

The source report is available via CryptoNewsNet.