Bitget Crypto Hack: Circle and Tether Freeze Wallets Swiftly

A wallet tied to this week’s massive Bitget crypto hack has been cut off from roughly $318,000 in stablecoins after Circle and Tether moved in to freeze the funds — a notably quick response following one of the year’s biggest exchange breaches. The action came hours after attackers drained $351.6 million from the exchange on Thursday, but it only scratches the surface of what disappeared. Most of the stolen money sits in more than 63,000 ETH, an asset no stablecoin issuer has the power to lock down.

Key takeaways

• Circle and Tether froze about $318,000 in USDT and USDC tied to Thursday’s $351.6 million Bitget hack.
• Circle blacklisted the wallet, labeled “Bitget Exploiter 8” on Etherscan, at 05:00 UTC Friday; Tether banned it shortly after.
• More than 63,000 ETH stolen in the breach remains unfrozen, since no issuer can block ether transfers.
• Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said attackers spoofed transaction data to trigger the exchange’s authorization process, ruling out a private key compromise.
• Bitget’s user protection fund, holding over $464 million, is covering the entire loss.

Circle and Tether Freeze Bitget Exploiter Wallet After $351.6 Million Hack

Circle and Tether have blacklisted a wallet connected to the Bitget crypto hack, cutting off roughly $318,000 in stablecoins from the attackers — though the bulk of the stolen money remains completely beyond reach. Onchain data shows Circle blacklisted the address at 05:00 UTC Friday. Etherscan labels the wallet “Bitget Exploiter 8,” and it held about 170.47 ETH alongside 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC at the time of the freeze. Blockchain security firm MistTrack confirmed that Tether banned the same wallet soon afterward.