Circle and Tether step in to freeze hacker wallet after massive Bitget crypto heist
Summary
Circle and Tether froze stablecoins in a wallet linked to Bitget’s $351.6 million hack, trapping about $318,000. Other attacker addresses still hold more than 63,000 ETH, which issuers cannot freeze. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said attackers compromised backend wallet infrastructure, spoofed transaction data and triggered fund transfers, but did not steal a private key. She said Bitget’s protection fund, with more than $464 million, covers the loss. Circle’s rapid response contrasts with criticism over its handling of the $285 million Drift hack, when an attacker moved about $232 million in USDC across chains before Circle froze assets.
