Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said she is "not very optimistic" about recovering funds stolen in a $388 million breach, acknowledging that only a small percentage has been frozen or clawed back so far.
Chen pointed to the 2025 Bybit hack as a "good reference point" for the exchange's own security incident, suggesting the Bitget case could follow a similar trajectory of limited recovery.
Why recovery looks unlikely
The bulk of the $388 million remains unrecovered, with just a fraction frozen or returned. Chen's comments signal that the exchange does not expect a major turnaround in retrieving the assets.
Bybit's 2025 hack, which Chen cited as a benchmark, involved a large-scale theft that saw only a small portion of funds recovered. That precedent appears to be shaping Bitget's internal expectations.
The Bybit comparison
Chen's reference to Bybit is notable because it ties two major exchange breaches together. The Bybit incident was one of the largest in recent years, and its recovery outcomes — limited as they were — now serve as a measuring stick for Bitget.
She did not provide a specific figure for how much has been frozen or returned in the Bitget case, only that the percentage is small.
What's been done so far
Freezing and recovery efforts have yielded only a small portion of the stolen $388 million. Chen's public assessment suggests those efforts are ongoing but unlikely to produce a full recovery.
The exchange has not released a detailed breakdown of which assets were affected or where they moved after the breach.
Bitget has not set a timeline for further recovery updates. Chen's remarks leave open the question of whether any additional funds will be frozen or returned, and whether the exchange will pursue legal or on-chain tracing measures in the coming months.
For now, the $388 million breach stands as one of the larger exchange security incidents this year, with recovery prospects looking dim.
