Crypto Exchange Bitget Releases Withdrawal Schedule after $387.5 Wallet Breach

Seychelles-based crypto exchange Bitget has released a withdrawal schedule for customers less than 24 hours after the company lost digital assets worth about $351.6 million to hackers, its CEO, Gracy Chen, said in a statement posted on X.

According to the CEO, Bitcoin holders can begin withdrawing starting at 8:00 UTC on September 28, 2026. The full withdrawal schedule is as follows:

• September, 28, 8:00 (UTC): BTC (Bitcoin Network)
• September 29, 8:00 (UTC): ETH (Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism)
• September 30, 8:00 (UTC): USDT (Ethereum, BSC, Solana, Tron)
• October 2, 8:00 (UTC): Other Tokens/Fiat/P2P

The withdrawal schedule became imperative following security beef-up on its entire infrastructure.

How it happened

An update from the crypto company says attackers compromised its backend system, spoofed data and then authorised transfers of $387.5 million in digital assets.

Affected crypto

The $387.5 million crypto theft spread across multiple assets such as XRP, ETH, USDT, and others across multiple blockchains. The company, however, disclosed that its cold wallets and “most platform funds remained safe,” ruling out private key theft.

Who are the attackers?

At the time of publication, the attackers have not been specifically identified. However, traces have been linked to North Korea (DPRK) patterns based on IP and on-chain clues. North Korea’s Lazarus Group, APT38, and TraderTraitor have in the past been accused of the bulk of crypto thefts.

For instance, security intelligence firm TRM reported that North Korea accounted for at least 76% of stolen digital assets in 2026, accounting for more than $6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency across hundreds of incidents since 2017

Actions taken by Bitget

The company disclosed that law enforcement plus firms such as Mandiant have been commissioned to track the attackers. Withdrawals were paused during reviews, but deposits and trading continued.

“Emergency response team activated within minutes of detection -Abnormal transfer addresses identified, flagged, and reported -Withdrawals temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure, pending security review -Law enforcement and on-chain security firms have been formally notified and are engaged”

Background

Bitget was hacked on September 24, 2026, leading to suspension of withdrawal as part of the measures usually taken by crypto exchange when security breaches were detected.

Gracy Chen confirmed the hack in a statement titled, “SECURITY NOTICE Bitget Hot Wallet Incident.”

Timeline of the hack

Thursday, September 24, 2026 (18:31 UTC): Bitget crypto exchange detected unauthorised transfers from some of its hot wallets at 18:31 UTC on September 24, 2026, prompting Bitget’s security team to activate “emergency response protocols immediately.”

Friday, September 25, 2026: Bitget’s security team made initial progress in tracing the source. The team found that the hacker succeeded by first compromising a critical backend system within Bitget’s wallet infrastructure.

Saturday, September 26, 2026: At about 9:00 hours, it was reported that Circle and Tether Freeze $318,000 linked to Bitget Hack. Circle and Tether blacklisted an address labelled “Bitget Exploiter 8,” freezing 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC, worth approximately $318,000 combined.

Later, it was reported that MistTrack confirmed that Tether had also blacklisted the address. MistTrack, a blockchain threat intelligence company, revealed that other attacker-linked addresses still hold more than 63,000 ETH, which stablecoin issuers cannot freeze.

Saturday, September 26, 2026: Bitget CEO revealed that the attackers’ addresses are publicly listed and actively tracked and asked THORChain to refuse service to the addresses of the hackers, saying, “Decentralisation is a design principle, not a shield for facilitating known stolen funds.”

Are users’ wallet safe?

Approximately $351.6 million was stolen from hot wallets while its cold wallets are secured, and Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which currently holds over $464 million, is enough to cover the loss.

Similarly, other industry stakeholders and founders of big crypto companies include Changpeng Zhao of Binance, Ben Zhou of Bybit, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, MEXC CEO Vugar Usi, and CoinDCX co-founder Sumit Gupta.

What does this mean for customers?

Customers’ account balances are accurate, according to the company, “and your assets are protected -Deposits and trading remain fully operational. Withdrawals are temporarily paused and will be restored as soon as the security review is complete.” The CEO has promised to keep users updated while efforts are ongoing to track the attackers and restore withdrawals.