North Korean hackers suspected in $351M crypto theft from exchange Bitget
More than $351 million was stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bitget's servers in a Thursday cyberattack, the largest crypto heist so far this year. Bitget's CEO said the attack pattern closely matches known North Korean hacking groups.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget suffered a cyberattack on Thursday in which more than $351 million was stolen from its servers, making it the largest known crypto theft of the year. North Korean hackers are suspected of carrying out the breach.
The previous record was set earlier in September, when a $340 million hack occurred, though in that case the attacker later returned all but $47 million of the stolen funds.
Hot wallets targeted
In a series of posts on X on Thursday and Friday, Bitget said the breach involved unauthorized transfers of crypto from its hot wallets — wallets connected to the internet and used for active trading. Following the incident, Bitget suspended crypto withdrawals across its network.
The company said it holds $464 million in a user protection fund, which it expects will cover the costs of the theft. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the breach was highly consistent with known patterns used by North Korean hacking organizations. Chen did not specify when withdrawals would resume.
Part of a wider pattern
Such hacking collectives have previously been linked to numerous crypto thefts and are suspected of targeting open-source software to mass-hack victims, with proceeds believed to help fund North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, North Korea is responsible for roughly three-quarters of all cryptocurrency thefts recorded so far in 2026, underscoring how frequently state-linked hackers continue to target crypto exchanges.
