North Korean Hackers Suspected in $351 Million Crypto Theft

North Korean threat actors are suspected of orchestrating a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of over $351 million in digital assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitget. The breach, which occurred on Thursday, marks the single largest crypto heist recorded this year, surpassing a September incident where a hacker stole $340 million but returned all but $47 million of the funds.

In a series of updates posted on X throughout Thursday and Friday, Bitget confirmed that attackers gained unauthorized access to its hot wallets—digital storage systems connected to the internet used for active trading operations. As a precautionary measure, the exchange has suspended all crypto withdrawals while it investigates the extent of the damage. CEO Gracy Chen stated that the company’s $464 million user protection fund is sufficient to cover the losses incurred from the theft.

Chen noted that the attack methodology exhibited patterns highly consistent with those utilized by North Korean hacker collectives. These groups have previously been linked to crypto thefts and allegations of compromising open-source software to facilitate mass hacks, activities believed to be aimed at financing the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

Data from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs supports the suspicion of North Korean involvement, indicating that the country is responsible for approximately three-quarters of all crypto theft value in 2026 so far, despite accounting for only a small fraction of the total number of attacks.

As of now, Bitget has not provided a timeline for when withdrawals will be reinstated.