Bybit

Bitget Loses $351 Million in Record 2026 Crypto Theft After Attackers Forge Internal Transfers

Bitget's hot and warm wallets were drained of approximately $351 million on September 24, marking the largest known single crypto theft of 2026. Attackers did not steal private keys but instead forged internal transfer requests that bypassed approval workflows. The stolen assets spanned at least five blockchains, with the largest portion being roughly 103 million XRP worth about $157 million. Bitget's CEO Gracy Chen attributed the incident to North Korean hackers based on IP patterns, behavioral signatures, and on-chain evidence matching prior operations. The exchange maintains a $464 million user protection fund sufficient to cover all losses, while deposits and trading remain unaffected and only withdrawals are temporarily frozen. The case highlights how process-level compromises can bypass even robust key-management controls in cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bybit Restricts Transfers to Sanctioned Entities Including Lazarus Group and CryptoPro

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has notified users that transfers to or from entities on its Restricted Counterparties list are prohibited, regardless of amount or whether conducted directly or through intermediaries. The list includes the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus group and Russian cryptographic software developer CryptoPro due to their presence on sanctions lists from the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom. Bybit will automatically reject outgoing transfers to listed counterparties and may freeze incoming funds from them or related addresses, with potential account suspension or closure for users involved. The exchange emphasizes that blockchain transparency allows tracing of funds without user confessions and reserves the right to block transactions even with counterparties not yet explicitly listed. These measures are embedded in Bybit's terms of service to ensure compliance with international sanctions regimes.