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ETH 
XRP Bitget hackers convert stolen USDC into ETH, freezing mechanism raises questions
After Bitget suffered a hacker attack that cost approximately US$351.6 million, hackers have converted stolen USDC into Ethereum (ETH). The incident has revived questions about when Circle would freeze funds in the face of an attack.
Security researcher flags suspicious transactions
Security researcher Taylor Monahan pointed out on Platform X (formerly Twitter) that USDC transfers and redemption activities related to Bitget attackers are taking place. She noticed that as stolen assets were converted to ETH, funds were flowing through wallets. Monahan questioned why the funds were able to move freely despite Circle's ability to block transfers from specific USDC addresses.
On-chain data shows that attackers prefer to leave the Arbitrum network rather than directly dump their USDC holdings. They first exchanged some of their assets into USDC and held them, and then bridged them through CCTP (Cross-Chain Transport Protocol), but Circle did not seem to take any action.
Bitget responded: The internal system was compromised and the withdrawal of coins has been suspended.
Bitget said that its security system detected unauthorized transfers in some hot wallets at 18:31 UTC time on September 24. The exchange immediately launched an Incident Response Service, temporarily suspended the customer withdrawal service, and estimated the affected assets to be approximately US$351.6 million. Currently, deposit and transaction functions are still operating normally. Bitget emphasizes that the account balance is accurate and the cold wallet is in a safe state.
据Bitget首席执行官Gracy Chen介绍，初步调查排除了钱包私钥泄露的可能性。研究人员认为，攻击者直接入侵了交易所的系统以转移资金，而未提交客户提币请求。目前，Bitget仍在调查攻击入口，尚未公布最终损失报告。
链上追踪机构Lookonchain根据更新时的价格估算，被盗资产组合价值约为3.568亿美元。其中包括价值约1.5748亿美元的1029.3万枚XRP、价值约8575万美元的31,890枚ETH以及2105万枚USDC。需要注意的是，Lookonchain的链上估算数据与Bitget内部的损失统计可能存在差异。
Bitget表示，已标记与异常转账相关的地址，并通知了执法机构和链上安全公司。Chen称，为防止进一步资金流出所采取的措施已完成，工程师们正在修复系统并恢复提币服务。
Circle的冻结政策引发争议
关于Circle的USDC冻结政策，业界存在不同解读。Circle在其条款中规定，保留在其黑名单政策下阻止向某些链上地址转账或从这些地址转出USDC的权利。然而，一旦攻击者将USDC兑换为ETH，针对USDC地址的冻结将无法冻结交易中获得的ETH。
Circle said in an April statement that its technical controls are used strictly and only uses freezing capabilities when mandated by appropriate legal authorities. Circle argued that allowing issuers to decide which assets to freeze could endanger the property rights of legitimate holders. In addition, the terms also state that once an on-chain USDC transaction is initiated, it cannot be revoked or recalled.
Monahan's criticism mainly focuses on the urgency of intervention time. She pointed out that the window of time left for Circle to intervene before suspected attackers complete the transfer or redemption of funds. Circle also acknowledged in its statement that while faster intervention tools exist, the legal framework to protect user rights while achieving rapid coordination of actions is not yet complete, calling for clearer rules and cross-protocol security measures.
Past Cases and Legal Litigation
Chain investigator ZachXBT has alleged that since 2022, Circle either acted Minor or did not respond quickly enough in 15 cases involving more than $420 million in suspected illegal USDC flows. These cases include hacking and fraud incidents, in which stolen funds can still move freely for a period of time for identifiable activity.
ZachXBT mentioned that in the GMX hack in July 2025, approximately $9 million in USDC was related to the attack; while in the Cetus hack, the relevant wallets were frozen after the stolen USDC was converted to ETH. In the Drift protocol breach, attackers moved approximately $232 million in funds through more than 100 transactions in about six hours before exchanging them.
Drift协议的转账问题已演变为美国的一起民事诉讼。今年4月，一名原告起诉Circle，指控其在Drift漏洞利用后未能阻止约2.3亿美元被盗USDC通过其跨链传输协议（CCTP）转移。原告在马萨诸塞州联邦地区法院提交的诉讼主张，如果Circle能更早介入，本可以减少损失。原告还引用Circle冻结了16个与美国另一项民事案件相关的USDC钱包作为证据，证明发行方有能力阻止地址转账。
Circle在Drift攻击后发布的公开声明重申，冻结操作需要法律依据，并呼吁建立允许在未来事件中采取更快行动的法律结构。
