Hackers stole funds only from hot wallets and wallets with additional multisignature protection. The crypto exchange’s cold wallets were not affected. The Bitget team suspended withdrawals until security checks are completed. North Korean hackers from the Lazarus Group are suspected in the theft.
The root cause and nature of the breach have not been determined. However, it differs from the earlier $1.4 billion theft from Bybit. This time, more blockchains and coin types were involved. Stolen assets included 103 million XRP ($157.5 million), 31.9 thousand ETH ($85.8 million), 34.8 million USDT, 21 million USDC, and others. A large amount of USDT, USDT0, USDC, and XAUt was converted by the hackers into $170 million worth of ETH.
However, the stolen assets are covered by Bitget’s user protection fund of 5.5 thousand BTC ($464 million). In addition, Bybit said it will help Bitget after Bitget assisted them following their own hack.