Bitget Hacker Moves $19.48M in Bitcoin-Heavy Transfers
Arkham says wallets linked to the Bitget hack moved $19.48 million in 52 transfers from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24. Bitcoin accounted for $19.33 million, or about 99.2%, while the remainder was in ETH. Almost all funds went to new addresses, but Arkham did not identify their recipients or confirm laundering, selling or cashing out.
The transfers form part of $78.01 million sent to new addresses since Oct. 15. Arkham valued the hacker-linked wallets’ remaining holdings at $242.54 million, mainly 2,960.01 BTC. That equals about 69% of Arkham’s $350 million theft baseline, or 62.6% of Bitget’s revised $387.5 million estimate; these figures do not indicate how much has been recovered.
The movements may renew attention to exchange security and create potential selling concerns if the BTC reaches markets. However, the destinations and any sales remain unconfirmed. Bitget says withdrawals have resumed, customer balances were unaffected, and its Protection Fund would cover the loss.
Neutral
The transfers are a security and sentiment concern for Bitget, but the report does not establish that the BTC was sold or moved to an exchange, mixer or cash-out service. New-address transfers alone do not create confirmed spot-market sell pressure, so a broad market impact is not yet evident.
In the short term, traders may monitor the identified wallets and any movements to exchanges or liquidity services. Confirmed deposits followed by sales could add pressure to BTC and renew concerns about exchange-related risks. Similar post-hack fund movements have often prompted brief caution, but their price impact depends on whether assets are actually liquidated and on broader market liquidity.
Over the longer term, the incident may weigh on confidence in centralized exchanges and increase scrutiny of custody and withdrawal controls. Bitget’s statements that withdrawals have resumed, customer balances were unaffected, and its Protection Fund would cover losses may help contain concern. On balance, the latest transfers are a watch item rather than a confirmed bearish catalyst for the wider crypto market.