North Korean cybercriminals are believed to have appropriated over $351 million from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitget’s servers during a cyber assault on Thursday.

This cyber intrusion is the most recent in a series of high-profile breaches targeting the cryptocurrency industry. It also marks the largest reported theft of digital currencies this year, surpassing a $340 million hack in September that concluded with the hacker returning all but $47 million of the pilfered assets.

In a number of updates on X on Thursday and Friday, Bitget revealed that the security breach involved the illicit transfer of cryptocurrencies from its hot wallets, which are online and intended for active trading. Bitget has since halted cryptocurrency withdrawals on its platform. The firm reported having $464 million in its user protection fund, which should adequately cover the losses incurred from the theft.

Gracy Chen, the chief executive of Bitget, stated that the breach and theft were “remarkably aligned with known behaviors of North Korean hacking groups.” These organizations have been associated with cryptocurrency thefts and are suspected of exploiting open-source software to conduct mass hacks to finance the nation’s nuclear weapons development.

According to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, North Korea is responsible for approximately 75% of all cryptocurrency thefts so far in 2026.

Chen did not specify when withdrawals on Bitget would resume.