Circle and Tether freeze hacker wallets after $351.6 million Bitget crypto heist

Following a $351.6 million exploit of cryptocurrency exchange Bitget on September 24, 2026, stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether blacklisted a hacker wallet to freeze about $318,000 in USDC and USDT. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that the hack occurred via compromised backend systems rather than private keys, and confirmed that the exchange's $464 million user protection fund will cover all losses. The frozen amount represents only a fraction of the stolen funds, as other hacker addresses hold over 63,000 ETH.

Stablecoin issuers freeze stolen funds

• ▪Tether blacklisted the "Bitget Exploiter 8" wallet address following the September 24, 2026 $351.6 million Bitget exploit, freezing approximately 218,023 USDT
• ▪Circle blacklisted the "Bitget Exploiter 8" wallet address linked to the September 24, 2026 Bitget hack at 05:00 UTC on Friday, September 25, 2026, freezing approximately 99,990 USDC
• ▪The freezes of the Bitget exploiter wallet by Circle and Tether only affected approximately $318,000 in stablecoins, leaving other Bitget exploiter addresses holding over 63,000 ETH, which no issuer can freeze

Details of the Bitget exploit

• ▪Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget lost $351.6 million in an exploit on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
• ▪Bitget Chief Executive Officer Gracy Chen ruled out a private key compromise and stated that the exchange's user protection fund of over $464 million will cover the losses from the September 24, 2026 Bitget hack
• ▪Bitget Chief Executive Officer Gracy Chen stated that attackers compromised a backend system in the exchange's wallet infrastructure to spoof transaction data and trigger fund transfers.

Drift hack response

• ▪During the $285 million April 2026 Drift hack, the attacker moved approximately $232 million in USDC from Solana to Ethereum using Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol
• ▪Circle's quick action freezing the "Bitget Exploiter 8" wallet contrasted with the $285 million April 2026 Drift hack, where critics accused it of slowly freezing $232 million in stolen USDC, prompting Circle to state it freezes assets when legally required

Debatable claims

• ▪Bitget's reliance on a self-funded protection fund is sufficient to guarantee user security
• ▪Stablecoin freezes are an ineffective tool for combating major cryptocurrency heists
• ▪Stablecoin issuers should freeze suspected stolen assets before receiving formal legal orders