Crypto Exchange Bitget Reports $351.6 Million Theft, Points to North Korean Lazarus Group

Bitget, a major digital asset trading platform, announced that it had been hit by a cyber‑attack resulting in the loss of roughly $351.6 million in customer funds. The company said it immediately suspended all withdrawal activity while it worked with forensic teams to assess the breach. The announcement, made on [date not given], marks one of the largest single‑event losses reported in the cryptocurrency sector this year.

According to Bitget, the intrusion was detected during routine monitoring of its internal ledger, which revealed anomalous transfers to a series of external wallets. The exchange’s security team isolated the compromised accounts and began a comprehensive audit to determine the scope of the theft. While the exact method used by the attackers has not been disclosed, officials indicated that the perpetrators exploited a vulnerability in the platform’s withdrawal logic, allowing them to move assets without triggering standard safeguards.

In its statement, Bitget said that preliminary intelligence points to North Korea’s Lazarus Group as a possible actor behind the operation. Lazarus, which has been linked to a string of high‑profile cryptocurrency heists over the past several years, is believed to fund the regime’s weapons programs. Analysts note that the group’s typical modus operandi—using sophisticated phishing, ransomware, and smart‑contract exploits—matches the pattern observed in the Bitget breach.

The incident adds to a growing list of crypto‑exchange hacks that have shaken investor confidence and prompted calls for tighter regulation. Earlier this year, other platforms suffered multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar losses, highlighting the sector’s ongoing struggle to secure decentralized assets against state‑sponsored and organized criminal groups. Regulators in several jurisdictions have responded by tightening anti‑money‑laundering requirements and urging exchanges to adopt more rigorous security audits.

Bitget said it is cooperating with law‑enforcement agencies in multiple countries and has engaged external cybersecurity firms to trace the stolen funds. The exchange has promised to compensate affected users in accordance with its insurance policy, though the timeline for restitution remains uncertain. Users have been advised to refrain from initiating any transactions until the platform restores full functionality and to monitor official communications for updates on the investigation.