Bitget hacker moves $83 million in stolen XRP as Ripple cannot freeze funds

Bitget hacker moves — The attacker behind the $387.5 million breach of crypto exchange Bitget has moved approximately $83 million in stolen XRP from three holding wallets, with about $75 million remaining in accounts that cannot be frozen under the XRP Ledger’s rules.

According to on-chain data, the hacker has nearly emptied two wallets and is draining a third, leaving the funds across five original holding accounts. While centralized exchanges can restrict accounts that receive the stolen XRP, Ripple itself cannot block transactions from wallets controlled by the attacker due to the network’s decentralized design.

In related actions, stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether have frozen roughly $320,000 in USDC and USDT linked to the hack. The breach, which occurred last week, saw nearly 103 million XRP stolen from Bitget.

The exchange has stated that its protection fund will cover the losses and that customer balances are unaffected. Bitget plans to resume withdrawals in stages, beginning September 28 and continuing through October 2.