Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says the exchange is “gradually back to usual” after a security breach cost users $388 million. In a Wednesday X post, Chen announced that withdrawals for all tokens will resume on Friday, and the exchange has already restored access to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USDt (USDT).
Chen also said the company’s Protection Fund reached $309 million as part of recovery efforts. The fund was set up in January 2022 with 5,500 BTC.
Chen’s Statement
Chen said the Protection Fund was created “for moments like this” and absorbed the financial impact of the incident. She told Cointelegraph this week that Bitget still hasn’t ruled out certain parties who may have been responsible for the attack.
Those suspects include:
- The possibility of an inside job
- North Korean hackers
The company launched a bounty program in response, offering 5% of the frozen funds and 5% for any recovered funds.
The Fund’s Purpose
The Protection Fund was initially set up with 5,500 BTC. It was intended to reimburse users’ potential losses that were “not a result of any misconduct from the user or the platform itself,” presumably including some security breaches.
Funds were available “for instant deployment whenever the need arises.”
What Happened to the Funds
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported Wednesday that wallets tied to the Bitget hack moved about $3.8 million in Zcash (ZEC) into the network’s Ironwood pool. Those transactions represented about 14% of the 18,917 ZEC stolen in the attack.
The stolen funds showed up in the Ironwood pool.
The Hack’s Scale
The $388 million loss is large by any measure. The stolen 18,917 ZEC included the $3.8 million moved into Ironwood.
What Remains Unknown
Chen has not closed the book on who carried out the attack. The company is still considering the possibility of an inside job, and it has not ruled out North Korean hackers.
The bounty program offers a financial incentive for anyone with information.
The Verdict on the Fund
The protection fund was set up in 2022. The fund’s existence is not a silver lining — a $388 million loss is still a loss. But the fact that the company had a plan in place speaks to how seriously it took the risk.
The question now is whether the fund will cover the full amount. Bitget has not said whether the $309 million balance is sufficient to reimburse all affected users.
What to Watch Next
- Whether the bounty program produces leads that identify the attackers
- Whether the fund’s balance is enough to cover all user losses
- How Bitget handles the remaining frozen funds, including the ZEC moved into the Ironwood pool
The company has said it will gradually return to normal operations. Whether that holds depends on what investigators find and how the fund performs.
For users, the immediate takeaway is that the exchange is moving toward normal operations. Whether the fund covers all losses remains an open question.
Source material: “Bitget ‘gradually back to usual’ as protection fund reaches $309M,” Cointelegraph.
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