Bitget restores $300M fund after absorbing $388M security breach

Bitget said on Sept. 30 that it had restored its Protection Fund to more than $300 million after absorbing the Sept. 24 security breach's financial impact. The exchange describes the fund as an additional safeguard for customers, separate from reserves backing their account balances.

In its announcement, Bitget says the fund absorbed approximately $388 million in impact from the incident, while customer balances remained accurate and unaffected. It says it fulfilled a Sept. 28 pledge to bring the fund back to at least $300 million within a week, completing the replenishment two days after that commitment.

The release does not quantify the new capital contributed, and Bitget's fund page says its displayed valuation uses prices at midnight UTC each day.

What the restored backstop covers

Under Bitget's published fund conditions, users may submit claims when accounts are compromised, or assets are stolen or lost through platform-wide events not attributable to their own actions or trading behavior.

The exchange retains the right to assess claims and investigate affected accounts or assets, with outcomes subject to its findings.

Eligibility to submit a claim does not guarantee reimbursement of a particular loss. The reported replenishment does not remove that assessment process or establish that compensation has been completed.

Bitget says customer reserves back covered account balances, while the Protection Fund adds a financial safeguard. Its separate reserve report gives an overall ratio of 131% across 19 covered assets, each above 100%, for a snapshot taken at 09:00 UTC on Sept. 29.

A 2023 advisory from the PCAOB's Office of the Investor Advocate noted that proof-of-reserves reports are not audits, may omit liabilities or borrowed assets, and cannot assure subsequent asset availability.

Withdrawal access continues to follow its own asset and network timetable. Bitget's Sept. 30 service notice says USDT withdrawals opened on Ethereum, BSC, Solana and Tron. A service-opening notice describes availability on those networks.

The exchange's incident timetable schedules the remaining cryptocurrencies, fiat, and peer-to-peer services for Oct. 2 at 08:00 UTC. Customers awaiting those services still face a separate milestone from the fund restoration that Bitget has reported.