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Bitget

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bitget
TypePrivate
IndustryCryptocurrency
Founded2018; 8 years ago (2018)
Area served
Worldwide
Key peopleGracy Chen (CEO)[1]
ProductsCryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrencies
SubsidiariesBitget Wallet
Websitebitget.com

Bitget is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018.

In September 2026, the exchange was hacked, with losses estimated at US$387.5 million.[2][3]

History

[edit]

Bitget was founded in 2018.[4][5][6] In December 2022, Bitget registered in the Seychelles, having previously been based in Singapore.[7][8] It initially specialized in cryptocurrency derivatives and copy trading.[4]

In April 2023, Bitget raised US$10 million from venture capital firm, Dragonfly.[7] Also, in April 2023, Bitget began testing the chatbot ChatGPT to answer customer inquiries, but ended the test after two weeks, saying that the tool had given users false information.[9] In 2024, amid the growing popularity of Telegram-based games such as Hamster Kombat, Bitget and Foresight Ventures invested US$30 million in the TON ecosystem.[10]

In 2024, Bitget appointed Gracy Chen as its chief executive.[11] Later this year, Bitget obtained a bitcoin service provider license from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador.[12]

In June 2026, it applied to Austria's Financial Market Authority for a license under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.[13][14]

2026 hack

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On September 24, 2026, attackers stole cryptocurrency from Bitget's exchange wallet infrastructure. The losses were initially estimated at US$351.6 million and were later revised to US$387.5 million after additional transfers were identified, making it the largest cryptocurrency theft reported in 2026 at the time.[15][16]

The attackers compromised Bitget's wallet infrastructure and manipulated transaction data so that unauthorized withdrawals passed through the exchange's authorization process. Private keys and cold wallets were not compromised. Independent investigations by Mandiant and SlowMist subsequently found that the attackers had exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in third-party security products to gain access to Bitget's wallet environment.[17] Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic assessed the attack as highly likely to be linked to North Korea, including the 2025 Bybit hack.[18]

Bitget said that the financial impact of the breach would be covered by its User Protection Fund, which was launched in 2022 and expanded to US$300 million following the collapse of FTX;[19] it was valued at more than US$464 million at the time of the attack.[20] As the attackers attempted to move the stolen assets, cryptocurrency issuers Circle and Tether and the cross-chain service NEAR Intents froze approximately US$632 thousand linked to the stolen funds.[21]

Products

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Bitget Wallet

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Bitget Wallet, formerly known as BitKeep, is a cryptocurrency wallet of Bitget. In October 2022, BitKeep's swap feature was exploited, resulting in losses of about US$1 million. Following a separate December 2022 hack linked to a counterfeit version of its app, BitKeep promised to reimburse affected users in USDT, paying back in split schedule. Blockchain security firm PeckShield estimated total losses from the December incident at about US$8 million.[22][23] In March 2023, Bitget acquired BitKeep, a non-custodial wallet, and renamed it as Bitget Wallet following a $30 million investment.[24]

Bitget Token

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Bitget Token (BGB) is a utility token associated with the Bitget ecosystem. In December 2024, Bitget merged the Bitget Wallet Token (BWB) into BGB, making BGB the common token of the exchange and wallet ecosystems.[25]

Sponsorships

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In 2021, the company was first sleeve sponsor of the Italian football club Juventus.[26][27][28]

In 2022, Bitget entered into a sponsorship deal with Lionel Messi after which he became a global brand ambassador of Bitget.[29][30] Bitget's partnership with Messi had ended by December 2025.[31]

In 2024, LaLiga announced a multi-year regional agreement with Bitget.[32]

[edit]

The exchange has faced regulatory warnings or restrictions in several jurisdictions, including Australia,[33] Indonesia,[34] and the Philippines.[35]

France

[edit]

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) placed Bitget on its blacklist in 2023 for non-compliance with French regulations.[36][14] Bitget withdrew its services from France in March 2026, describing the move as part of its efforts to comply with French regulatory requirements and following discussions with the AMF.[37] Remaining assets were subsequently scheduled to be transferred to a licensed crypto-asset service provider.[38] On July 9, 2026, the AMF removed bitget.com from its crypto asset blacklist.[36]

Hong Kong

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In 2023, BitgetX withdrew from Hong Kong after deciding not to seek a local virtual-asset trading licence.[39][40] BGX, which shared a chief executive with BitgetX but denied being affiliated with Bitget, subsequently acquired a substantial stake in the parent company of the licensed exchange OSL.[41]

Japan

[edit]

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) warned Bitget Limited in 2023 and 2024 for conducting crypto asset exchange business with Japanese residents without registration.[42][43] In February 2025, upon the agency's request, Apple removed the apps of Bitget from its Japanese App Store.[44] Later in 2025, the FSA also added BTG Technology Holdings Limited, which provides the Bitget service, to its list of unregistered operators that had been sent warning letters, for soliciting over-the-counter derivatives trading over the internet.[45]

Singapore

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In 2021, Singapore's financial regulator suspended Bitget's operations in the country over allegations of misleading promotion of the token named after the BTS fanbase.[46] BTS's management company Hybe threatened legal action over its promotion.[47] Bitget subsequently announced that it would delist ''ARMY'', while allowing withdrawals for a limited period.[48][49]

Turkey

[edit]

Bitget entered the Turkish market through its local subsidiary Bitget Teknoloji in 2023. In 2024, the subsidiary entered liquidation and Bitget withdrew its local operations; its shares were subsequently acquired by METX Dijital, the owner of the CoinTR exchange.[50][51]

United Kingdom

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In 2024, Bitget ceased serving users in the United Kingdom (UK) in response to the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) ban on retail cryptocurrency derivatives.[52] Later this year, the exchange relaunched its UK website after obtaining approval for its financial promotions from Archax.[53]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Lang, Hannah (14 July 2025). "Crypto exchanges rushed to list Trump's coin - leaving many losers and some big winners". Reuters.
  2. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth (25 September 2026). "Crypto exchange Bitget pauses withdrawals after $350 million stolen in hack". Reuters.
  3. ↑ "Bitget crypto exchange hit by $390mn hack". Financial Times.
  4. 1 2 Meisinger, Dominik (28 January 2026). "Bitget: Kryptobörse kommt nach Wien und holt Oliver Stauber als EU-Chef" [Bitget: Crypto exchange comes to Vienna and hires Oliver Stauber as EU chief]. brutkasten (in German).
  5. ↑ Кузьмичева, Анастасия (26 December 2024). "Токен биржи Bitget вышел в лидеры по росту в 2024 году. Как это произошло". RBK Group.
  6. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Fortune2023a3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. 1 2 Schwartz, Leo (4 April 2023). "Crypto trading platform Bitget gets $10 million funding round from Dragonfly". Fortune.
  8. ↑ "Bitget registers in Seychelles and plans to grow its global workforce by 50%". Bitget. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Schwartz, Leo (30 May 2023). "As crypto embraces A.I., a major exchange scraps its ChatGPT integration because 'it's very dangerous'". Fortune. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Chhetri, Manish (18 September 2024). "Bitget and Foresight Ventures invest $30 million in TON blockchain". FXStreet. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Abdulkareem, Aliyu (17 April 2025). "The Meteoric Rise of Bitget".
  12. ↑ Olivares, Ariel (16 December 2024). "Empresa de intercambio de criptomonedas obtiene licencia para proveer servicios en El Salvador" [Cryptocurrency exchange company obtains license to provide services in El Salvador]. Diario El Mundo.
  13. ↑ Fröhlich, Christoph (30 June 2026). "Mica-Frist 1. Juli: Das müssen Krypto-Anleger wissen" [MiCA deadline July 1: What crypto investors need to know]. DAS INVESTMENT (in German).
  14. 1 2 Frohn, Philipp (25 June 2026). "Binance: Kryptobörse droht Rauswurf aus der EU – Was nun auf Kunden zukommt" [Binance: Crypto exchange faces expulsion from the EU – what customers can expect]. WirtschaftsWoche.
  15. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth (25 September 2026). "Crypto exchange Bitget pauses withdrawals after $350 million stolen in hack". Reuters.
  16. ↑ "Bitget crypto exchange hit by $390mn hack". Financial Times. 26 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Gatlan, Sergiu (30 September 2026). "Bitget hacked via zero-day in third-party security products". BleepingComputer.
  18. ↑ "Bitget attack pushes suspected North Korea crypto heists over $1 billion in 2026". Elliptic. 25 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Bitget raises its Protection Fund to $300M to reassure users after FTX's collapse". Bitget. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth (25 September 2026). "Crypto exchange Bitget pauses withdrawals after $350 million stolen in hack". Reuters.
  21. ↑ Lakshmanan, Ravie (1 October 2026). "Bitget Confirms Third-Party Zero-Day Behind $387.5 Million Cryptocurrency Theft". The Hacker News.
  22. ↑ Cabral, Alvin R (26 December 2022). "Hackers steal $8m worth of cryptocurrency from BitKeep wallets". The National.
  23. ↑ More, Anviksha (19 January 2023). "BitKeep to Reimburse Hacking Victims by March". BankInfoSecurity. Information Security Media Group (ISMG). Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  24. ↑ PTI (30 March 2023). "BitKeep Rebrands As Bitget Wallet After Acquisition". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  25. ↑ "Токен биржи Bitget вышел в лидеры по росту в 2024 году. Как это произошло". RBC (in Russian). 26 December 2024.
  26. ↑ Jones, Rory (28 September 2021). "Juventus name Bitget as first-ever sleeve sponsor". SportsPro.
  27. ↑ "Bitget è il primo sponsor di manica della Juventus" [Bitget is Juventus's first sleeve sponsor]. Calcio e Finanza (in Italian). 28 September 2021.
  28. ↑ Sacchi, Marco (2 February 2024). "La Juve sigla un accordo con Zondacrypto: è il nuovo sponsor di manica" [Juve signs a deal with Zondacrypto, its new sleeve sponsor]. Calcio e Finanza (in Italian).
  29. ↑ Lemire, Joe (23 June 2026). "Lionel Messi Signs Second Crypto Partnership With Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitget". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  30. ↑ Dixon, Ed (25 October 2022). "Lionel Messi bags latest cryptocurrency sponsorship with Bitget". SportsPro.
  31. ↑ Wahnon, Pablo (2 December 2025). "La exchange Bitget suma figuras de LALIGA como Julián Alvarez y espera un aumento de las inversiones en criptomonedas" [The exchange Bitget adds LaLiga stars such as Julián Alvarez and expects crypto investment to grow]. Forbes Argentina.
  32. ↑ Samadi, Faaez (19 September 2024). "LaLiga signs 'multi-million' crypto deal with Bitget". SportBusiness. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  33. ↑ Cite error: The named reference ABC20262 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ↑ "Bappebti Gandeng Kominfo Blokir Platform Kripto Luar Negeri" [Bappebti teams up with Kominfo to block foreign crypto platforms]. kumparan. 18 July 2024.
  35. ↑ Flores, Dominique Nicole (6 August 2025). "10 crypto platforms targeted in SEC crackdown over lack of registration". Philstar.com.
  36. 1 2 "The AMF reminds the public that the cryptoasset trading platform BITGET is blacklisted". 3 April 2024.
  37. ↑ "Important update on user signups in France and Germany". Bitget. 16 January 2026. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  38. ↑ "Update Announcement for French Users". Bitget. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  39. ↑ "BC Technology Group circular (subscription agreement with BGX)" (PDF). HKEXnews.
  40. ↑ "BC Technology Group Limited — Circular (Subscription Agreement with BGX)" (PDF). Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  41. ↑ Shen, Xinmei (15 November 2023). "Owner of Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL gets US$91 million from firm linked to Bitget, which is exiting the market". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  42. ↑ "無登録で暗号資産交換業を行う者について（Bitget Limited）" [Regarding a party conducting crypto-asset exchange business without registration (Bitget Limited)] (PDF). Financial Services Agency. 31 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "無登録で暗号資産交換業を行う者について（Bitget Limited）" [Regarding a party conducting crypto-asset exchange business without registration (Bitget Limited)] (PDF). 28 November 2024.
  44. ↑ Beri, Devesh (8 February 2025). "Japan Wants Apple to Remove Unregistered Crypto Apps from App Store". The Mac Observer.
  45. ↑ "無登録で金融商品取引業を行う者の名称等について（HTML版）" [Names of parties conducting financial instruments business without registration (HTML version)]. Financial Services Agency.
  46. ↑ Ni, Vincent (5 December 2021). "Singapore suspends crypto exchange over row with K-pop band BTS". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  47. ↑ Berger, Miriam (7 December 2021). "Singapore suspends cryptocurrency exchange accused of misleading BTS fans". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  48. ↑ Park, Jae-hyuk (29 October 2021). "'Army Coin' irks BTS agency in talks with Upbit operator". The Korea Times. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  49. ↑ "Bitget Will Delist ARMY on December 3, 2021". Bitget Support Center. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  50. ↑ "Dev kripto borsası Bitget TR, Türkiye'den çekiliyor" [Crypto exchange giant Bitget TR is withdrawing from Turkey]. Patronlar Dünyası. 16 August 2024.
  51. ↑ "Tasfiye Sürecinde Olanlar Listesi" [List of those in the liquidation process].
  52. ↑ "Notice to United Kingdom Users | Bitget Support Center". Bitget. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  53. ↑ Times, The Fintech (13 November 2024). "Bitget Returns to UK: Archax Approval Ensures Compliance with the FCA's Financial Promotion Regime". The Fintech Times. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
[edit]

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