Bitget lost roughly $350 million across seven blockchains on Sept. 24, with $228 million of that total moving out in an 18-minute window, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. Attackers began converting the stolen assets into ether within minutes and split the funds across new wallets, while Bitget disputes claims that the breach reached its cold storage.
$228 Million Left Bitget in 18 Minutes
Bitget customers could not withdraw funds after attackers drained the exchange on Sept. 24. Arkham traced about $350 million leaving five Bitget wallets across seven chains between 2:31 and 5:23 p.m. EDT: the XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Base.
The theft was concentrated in a short window. According to Arkham: "Of the $350M, $228M left Bitget in 18 minutes, from 18:58 to 19:16 UTC." By Sept. 25, the firm had labeled 26 addresses linked to the attackers, letting investigators follow the funds as they move.
XRP Loss Raises a Wallet Classification Dispute
Arkham identified $153 million in XRP as the largest single part of the theft and traced its source to a Bitget cold wallet. Bitget disputes that classification, saying its cold wallets stayed secure and the breach was confined to portions of its hot and warm wallet infrastructure. The two accounts remain in conflict while the investigation continues.
Unlike the ether that attackers dispersed, the stolen XRP largely stayed put. More than 99% of roughly 103 million XRP remained in five wallets early on Sept. 25.
Attackers Convert Assets Into Ether
Within 10 minutes of the theft, attackers began selling stablecoins and tokenized gold for ether, Arkham reported. Funds from Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base bridged to Ethereum by 4:04 p.m. EDT. Arkham estimated that roughly $100 million in non-ether assets became about 36,600 ETH. The attackers then split their holdings among new addresses; eight of those addresses held about 68,300 ETH, worth $183 million, when Arkham published its account, with no outgoing transfers reported from them at that point.
The BNB portion moved more slowly. Arkham traced $6.9 million to 12 unlabeled BNB Chain wallets, reporting deposits of at least $4.7 million to Thorchain and $2 million to Fixedfloat.
Bitget Says Its Protection Fund Covers the Loss
Bitget's security notice put the affected amount at $351.6 million. That figure is roughly twice the $174 million to $183 million reflected in early reports. The exchange says its User Protection Fund holds more than $464 million and covers the loss. Withdrawals stayed paused during the security review, while deposits and trading continued.
Source: Bitcoin News
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