Circle · Tether · Ethereum · Decrypt
Circle and Tether Freeze Stablecoins Tied to Bitget Hack—But Most Funds Slip Away
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Circle and Tether have frozen a wallet linked to the massive Bitget exchange hack, cutting off roughly $318,000 in stablecoins from the attacker, though the bulk of the stolen fortune moved beyond reach before issuers could act.
Key facts
- Blockchain data shows Circle blacklisted the address, labeled "Bitget Exploiter 8" on Etherscan, at 05:00 UTC Friday, using the built-in freeze function in its USDC token contract
- Blockchain trackers indicate other exploiter-linked addresses still hold more than 63,000 ETH that no issuer has the authority to touch
- Circle and Tether have frozen a wallet linked to the massive Bitget exchange hack, cutting off roughly $318,000 in stablecoins from the attacker, though the bulk of the stolen fortune moved
- The wallet also held around 170 ETH, but that portion remains untouched, underscoring the core limitation of stablecoin freezes: issuers can blacklist their own tokens at the contract level, but no
Summary
Circle and Tether froze a wallet tied to the Bitget hack, blacklisting roughly 99,990 USDC and 218,023 USDT (~$318,000) at the contract level; Circle acted at 05:00 UTC Friday, with Tether following via its multisig hours later. The wallet's ~170 ETH stayed untouched—issuers can freeze their own tokens but not Ethereum—and trackers show other exploiter addresses still hold 63,000+ ETH beyond reach. It's a small dent in a breach pegged at roughly $387 million, with Lazarus Group a suspected culprit and Bitget's $464 million protection fund set to cover losses. Blockchain data shows Circle blacklisted the address, labeled "Bitget Exploiter 8" on Etherscan, at 05:00 UTC Friday, using the built-in freeze function in its USDC token contract.