Bitget Hack Pushes North Korean Crypto Haul Past $1 Billion

A $357 million hack of crypto exchange Bitget on Thursday was likely carried out by North Korea-linked hackers, pushing the nation-state’s haul from digital-asset thefts above $1 billion this year, according to analytics firm Elliptic Enterprises Ltd.

The Bitget exploit showed similarities to previous attacks attributed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including how the stolen crypto was moved and laundered, Elliptic said in a blog post on Friday. Some of the funds were also connected to addresses tied to earlier hacks, including the record-setting $1.5 billion exploit of crypto exchange Bybit last year, Elliptic said.

“Early indications in the laundering patterns and noted onchain overlaps are suggestive that the group commonly tracked as ‘TraderTraitor’ as responsible for the Bitget exploit,” Elliptic said.

North Korea has emerged as one of the biggest sources of crypto theft over the past decade, with DPRK-linked hackers stealing billions of dollars in digital assets since 2017 and using the proceeds to generate revenue for the sanctions-hit regime, according to Elliptic. The analytics firm has tracked more than 50 security incidents linked to North Korea this year alone, amounting to around $1.2 billion in stolen funds.

Bitget’s hack is the latest in a series of major crypto breaches over the past few months, as the industry faces increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. Artificial intelligence is giving hackers new tools to make exploits easier to carry out, while crypto firms remain attractive targets because large amounts of digital assets can be stolen and moved rapidly.

Read More: AI Fuels 440% Surge in Hackers Using Blockchains in Attacks (1)

Bitget said on Thursday that it had detected unauthorized transfers from its wallets, impacting various cryptocurrencies. After draining the wallets, the hackers quickly swapped many of the tokens, moving them between networks. The exchange suspended withdrawals and said cold-storage wallets were unaffected.

The stolen amount is currently covered by the exchange’s $464 million “user protection fund,” Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said in a post on X.

She added that the attack was “consistent with techniques used by DPRK-linked hacker groups.”

The company continues to investigate the hack and is working with security firms Mandiant and SlowMist on an investigation into the exploit, a spokesperson said in a statement.