Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says she is “not very optimistic” about recovering $388 million in stolen funds from the exchange’s recent security breach. The hack, which suspended withdrawals after $352 million in digital assets were lost on Thursday, now stands at a revised total of $388 million.
Bounty Program Details
Bitget launched a bounty program in response, offering 5% of frozen funds and 5% of recovered funds. Some companies have stepped up to help. The team behind NEAR Intents reported Monday that it had blocked more than $50 million in assets tied to the attack and froze about $500,000.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle blacklisted a wallet linked to the exploit, freezing $318,013 in USDt and USDC.
Revised Loss Figure
Chen updated the incident report to reflect a “more complete accounting of transfers.” The revised figure of $388 million replaces the initial $352 million reported.
Possible Culprit
Chen said immediately after the attack that North Korea may have been responsible, based on “IP addresses that match the VPN choices by a certain Democratic People’s Republic of Korea group.” She added that Bitget hadn’t “totally ruled out” the possibility of an inside job.
“This is a very complicated matter that we need to do a lot of investigation and quite thoroughly,” she said. “It’s more based on our preliminary results of the investigation, we have ruled out that possibility.”
Withdrawal Resumption
Bitget began resuming withdrawals for users in stages, starting with Bitcoin transactions on Monday and continuing with ETH on Tuesday.
The Scale of the Breach
This is one of the largest security breaches to hit the crypto industry in 2026. It follows a $320 million exploit of the Liquid Network in September. Among the most significant attacks are Bybit’s in 2025, a $615 million Ronin Bridge hack in 2022 and a $611 million hack of the Poly Network in 2021.
Recovery Effort Status
The recovery effort is real, but the CEO’s admission that funds may never come back lands hard on anyone who lost money. Chen’s “not very optimistic” framing is the clearest signal yet that the stolen funds may simply be gone.
What Happens Next
The company has not announced any further steps toward recovery beyond the bounty program. Chen’s comments suggest the investigation is far from over. Whether the stolen funds are ever recovered remains unclear.
Recovery Effort So Far
- Bitget launched a bounty program offering 5% of frozen and recovered funds.
- NEAR Intents blocked more than $50 million in assets and froze about $500,000.
- Tether and Circle blacklisted a wallet, freezing $318,013 in USDt and USDC.
- Bitget resumed Bitcoin withdrawals on Monday, followed by ETH on Tuesday.
Key Facts Box
– Hack loss: $388 million (revised from $352 million)
– Frozen funds: $50 million blocked by NEAR Intents, $500,000 frozen
– Blacklisted wallet: $318,013 in USDt and USDC frozen
– Previous major hacks: Bybit ($615 million), Ronin Bridge ($611 million), Poly Network ($611 million)
What We Know So Far
1. The hack suspended withdrawals after $352 million in digital assets were lost on Thursday.
2. Chen revised the figure to $388 million.
3. NEAR Intents blocked more than $50 million in assets.
4. Tether and Circle blacklisted a wallet, freezing $318,013 in USDt and USDC.
5. Bitcoin withdrawals resumed on Monday, ETH on Tuesday.
6. Chen says she is “not very optimistic” about recovering the funds.
The stolen funds may be gone. The CEO’s own words make that clear.
Source material: “Bitget CEO ‘not very optimistic’ on recovering funds from $388M breach,” Cointelegraph.
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