Bitget Says Protection Fund Covers $351.6 Million Lost in Exchange Wallet Drain
Crypto left five Bitget wallets across seven chains on Sept. 24, customers lost withdrawal access, and the exchange says its protection fund covers an estimated $351.6 million loss.
Why it matters
Bitget has put the shortfall on its protection fund rather than on customers, which makes the cost of the drain a question about the size and rules of that fund. The $153 million in XRP and the $19.67 million converted into 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum within hours show stolen assets reaching tradeable markets quickly, and the gap between the $183 million first circulated and Arkham's roughly $350 million means the tally is still moving.
Where the sources disagree
Whether Bitget has publicly responded
$183 million
Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
$350 million
Bitcoin.com News
Crypto News reported that users were blocked from withdrawing and Bitget had issued no public statement, and Bitcoin.com News reported the exchange saying its protection fund covers the loss.
Total value drained from Bitget wallets
about $183 million
Decrypt, Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
about $350 million
Bitcoin.com News
an estimated $351.6 million loss
Bitcoin.com News
The first on-chain alerts put the outflow at about $183 million, Arkham's later analysis put it near $350 million, and Bitget's own figure is $351.6 million.
Key facts
Arkham Intelligence traced about $350 million leaving five Bitget wallets across seven chains between 2:31 and 5:23 p.m. EDT on Sept. 24.
350,000,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
Arkham said $228 million left Bitget in 18 minutes, from 18:58 to 19:16.
228,000,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
The stolen assets included $153 million in XRP.
153,000,000 USDReported by Bitcoin.com News
On-chain data showed roughly $183 million in tokens moving from wallets labelled as Bitget's to a single address over about an hour on Sept. 24.
183,000,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Decrypt
A newly created wallet spent $19.67 million in USDT0 to buy 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum in six minutes through UniswapX and 1inch Fusion, paying up to 5% above spot.
19,670,000 USDReported by Decrypt
Bitget said its protection fund covers the estimated $351.6 million loss.
351,600,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
Bitget has paused withdrawals while investigators track the assets.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
Arkham's Sept. 25 postmortem labelled 26 addresses tied to the attackers and showed the stolen assets converted into ether and spread across new wallets.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
What happened
Arkham Intelligence traced about $350 million leaving five Bitget wallets across seven chains — XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Avalanche and Base — between 2:31 and 5:23 p.m. EDT on Sept. 24, of which $228 million moved in an 18-minute stretch from 18:58 to 19:16, and the haul included $153 million in XRP. Earlier the same day, Emmett Gallic and Bubblemaps posted that roughly $183 million in ETH, USDT, USDC, AVAX, BNB and other tokens had moved from Bitget wallets into the single address 0x770b10b273fC44Fe9197D6bF20F145c2e98463Ee, which then dispersed the funds onward, and Crypto News put that movement at about an hour. A newly created wallet spent $19.67 million in USDT0 to buy 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum in six minutes through UniswapX and 1inch Fusion, paying up to 5% above spot, DCF GOD reported. Arkham's Sept. 25 postmortem labelled 26 addresses tied to the attackers and showed the stolen assets converted into ether and spread across new wallets. Bitget has paused withdrawals, and the exchange told Bitcoin.com News its protection fund covers an estimated $351.6 million loss, while Crypto News reported earlier that users were blocked from withdrawing and the company had issued no public statement; the analysts who raised the alarm, Bubblemaps and Arkham, described the exchange as potentially hacked rather than confirmed a breach.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Decrypt
Bitget 'Potentially Hacked' as $183 Million Vanishes From Exchange Wallets
- Update
On-chain watchers flag Bitget wallet outflows
Emmett Gallic posted that $183 million had moved from Bitget wallets to 0x770b10b273fC44Fe9197D6bF20F145c2e98463Ee as recently as 24 minutes earlier, and Bubblemaps said Bitget wallets had sent about $180 million across multiple chains to that address before dispersing it.
- Update
Fresh wallet converts USDT0 into 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum
DCF GOD reported that a newly created wallet bought 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum in six minutes with $19.67 million in USDT0 from a Bitget hot wallet via UniswapX and 1inch Fusion, paying up to 5% over spot, and wondered whether a hot wallet had been hacked for $20 million.
- Update
Bubblemaps and Arkham analysts describe the exchange as potentially hacked
Crypto News reported that on-chain sleuths flagged the unusual activity late Thursday, that about $183 million moved into a newly created address within about an hour, and that Bitget had yet to confirm the exploit while users reported blocked withdrawals.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Bitget Hackers Drain $228M in 18 Minutes, Arkham Tracks 7 Chains
- Update
Arkham publishes postmortem and labels 26 attacker addresses
Arkham said about $350 million left five Bitget wallets across seven chains between 2:31 and 5:23 p.m. EDT, with $228 million moving in 18 minutes from 18:58 to 19:16, and it had grouped 26 addresses linked to the attackers as the funds were converted into ether and spread.
- Official statement
Bitget says its protection fund covers the loss
Bitget told Bitcoin.com News its protection fund covers an estimated $351.6 million loss and that the exchange has paused withdrawals while investigators track the assets, including $153 million in XRP.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 24 Sept 2026, 21:15 UTC: Decrypt — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 15:45 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 2 independent sources, 3 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: USD Coin, Avalanche, Base, Optimism, Bybit, Uniswap
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin.com News Company, official | Bitget Hackers Drain $228M in 18 Minutes, Arkham Tracks 7 Chains | Independent | |
| Decrypt Crypto media | Bitget 'Potentially Hacked' as $183 Million Vanishes From Exchange Wallets | Original | |
| Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) Aggregator | Bitget 'Potentially Hacked' as $183 Million Vanishes From Exchange Wallets | Syndicated |
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