Bitget遭黑客攻击损失超3.5亿美元，CEO陈沁回应

LIVE FROM BLOOMBERG’S WORLD HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK. I’M SCARLET FU. TIM: AND I’M TIM STENOVEC. WELCOME TO "BLOOMBERG CRYPTO." SCARLET: MOMENTS FROM NOW, WE’LL SPEAK TO THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, ANDREW CUOMO, ABOUT THE FAILURE OF THE CLARITY ACT AND WHAT ROLE HE SEES CRYPTO PLAYING IN POLITICS. TIM: AND ANOTHER MAJOR CRYPTO HACK, THIS TIME ON THE EXCHANGE. WE TALKED WITH THE C.E.O. ABOUT HOW HACKERS WERE ABLE TO STEAL HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TOKENS AND HOW HER COMPANY IS RESPONDING.

SCARLET: AND THE S.E.C. COMMISSIONER IS ENDING HER TENURE THIS WEEK. WE DISCUSS HOW FAR CRYPTO HAS COME DURING HER TIME. TIM: THAT’S ALL AHEAD ON "BLOOMBERG CRYPTO." FIRST UP, A CHECK ON HOW THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW. BITCOIN IS DOWN ABOUT HALF A PERCENTAGE POINT TODAY. A LITTLE BIT OF A RISK-OFF DAY IN EQUITY MARKETS. SO, TOO, IN DIGITAL ASSETS. STILL HOVERING AROUND $83 3,000 PER BITCOIN. ETHER DOWN. SOLANA DOWN TO $118.

I WANT TO ZOOM OUT AND LOOK AT THE QUARTER, BECAUSE IT’S BEEN QUITE A QUARTER FOR BITCOIN. THE QUARTER UNDERSTANDS TOMORROW. BITCOIN IS UP CLOSE TO 40% FROM JULY, EXCUSE ME, IT ENDS LATER THIS WEEK, NOT TOMORROW. 40% FROM JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER SO FAR. IT REVERSES THE 14% LEASE IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. IF YOU LOOK AT HOW BITCOIN HAS DONE THUS FAR THIS QUARTER, UP 40%, YOU’VE GOT TO GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2024 TO SEE A PERFORMANCE SUCH AS THAT IN A SINGLE QUARTER, AND THAT WAS WHEN BITCOIN WAS UP 48% -- 47%.

SCARLET: AND DEMAND FROM INSTITUTIONS CERTAINLY HELPED TO SUPPORT BITCOIN’S RECENT PRICE ACTION. BITCOIN ETF’S ATTRACTED ABOUT $2.4 BILLION. THAT IS THE LARGEST WEEKLY NET INFLOW SINCE EARLY OCTOBER LAST YEAR. AND YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST OCTOBER. THE COIN SET A RECORD ABOUT $126,000 BEFORE THEN TUMBLING AND ENTERING A CRYPTO WINTER. SO THIS LATEST SURGE IN WEEKLY INFLUENCE WAS ENOUGH TO PUSH THE ETF’S INTO POSITIVE TERRITORY FOR THE YEAR, TIM.

TIM: LET’S GET TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST STORY THAT’S ROCKING THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY THIS WEEK, THE EXCHANGE BIT REPORTED MORE THAN $350 MILLION IN UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS FROM SOME OF ITS WALLETS, LEADING IT TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND WITHDRAWALS. THE COMPANY WORKED TO ADDRESS THE HACK. THE C.E.O. APPEARED ON A THREE-HOUR LIVE STREAM TO SHARE DETAILS. SHE ALSO POSTED ON X SAYING, "BECAMED ON I.P. BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND SIGNATURES, THIS ATTACK IS CONSISTENT WITH TECHNIQUES USED BY DPRK-LINKED HACKER GROUPS."

WE HAVE NOTIFIED RELEVANT AUTHORITIES AND ARE COOPERATING FULLY WITH THEM GLOBALLY. FOR MORE, WE ARE JOINED BY THE C.E.O., GRACY CHEN. GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON THE PROGRAM. I’M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR COMPANY AND HOW YOU’RE RESPONDING RIGHT NOW. HOW ARE YOU MAKING SURE, FIRST, THIS IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN?

NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, TIM. I’M VERY SAD IS A THIS IS THE OCCASION THAT WE GET TO SPEAK, NOT IN THE MARKET, BUT ON OUR HACK. SO THE BIGGEST LESSON THAT WE KNOW FROM HERE IS THAT THIS HAS BEEN EIGHT YEARS OF OUR OPERATION. THERE ISN’T ANY INCIDENT, AND THIS CAN NEVER BE A REASON TO BECOME JUST COMPLACENT. SECURITY HAS TO EVOLVE AS THE PLATFORM GROWS IN THE ATTACK METHODS INVOLVED. SO FAR, ONE MAJOR LESSON IS MANAGING THE THIRD-PARTY SECURITY RISK.

THE ATTACKER THIS TIME THAT THEY EXPLOITED A VULNERABILITY IN ONE OF THE THIRD-PARTY SECURITY PRODUCTS TO OBTAIN HIGH-LEVEL INTERNAL CREDENTIALS HAS INTRODUCED A LOT STRICTER ASSESSMENTS BEFORE ANY THIRD-PARTY PRODUCT HAD DEPLOYED AND STRONGER CONTROLS AROUND THE DEPLOYMENT THEMSELVES. AND THE SYSTEM ACCESS HAS BEEN TIGHTENED, RESTRICTING ACCESS AND REQUIRING MULTIPLE APPROVALS FOR CRITICAL OPERATIONS. WE’RE ALSO STRENGTHENING VERIFICATION AND ANY UNLAWFUL MONITORING.

SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE’VE BEEN DOING, BUT THE BROADER LESSON IS THAT SECURITY ISN’T ONLY JUST ABOUT MANAGING OR PROTECTING PRIVATE WALLETS, WHICH IS THE CASE THIS TIME. WE HAVE BEEN PROTECTING THOSE THINGS. BUT EVERY SYSTEM, ALSO THIRD-PARTY PRODUCT THAT CAN BE PROVIDED, THAT CAN PROVIDE ACCESS TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE HAS TO BE TREATED AS PART OF THE SECURITY PERIMETER. SCARLET: DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON HOW LONG THE HACKER WAS INSIDE THE PLATFORM GATHERING KEYS?

SO NO, WE DON’T HAVE PRIVATE KEYS BEING EXPOSED. WE DON’T HAVE OUR WALLETS BEING TOUCHED. SO IT’S NOT ABOUT GATHERING THE KEY, IT’S MORE ABOUT GATHERING THE VULNERABILITY OF THE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE THAT WE HAD, SO THE VULNERABILITY IS THE KEY THING, BUT NO, I DON’T HAVE MORE ABOUT THE UPDATE ABOUT HOW LONG DID THEY BE THERE LIKE BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. TIM: CAN YOU UPDATE ON WHAT YOU’RE SEEING ON THE PLATFORM RIGHT NOW?

OUR NEWS TIMEOUTING RECOVERY NIGHT THE HACK HASSED CUSTOMER OUTFLOWS AT BIT GET. IS THAT NUMBER STILL CONSISTENT?

WHAT IS THE NUMBER YOU ARE SEEING? TIM: $463 MILLION IN THE 24 HOURS INTO TUESDAY.

THAT NUMBER SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT. BECAUSE WE DO HAVE, THIS IS AN ONGOING WITHDRAWAL FROM OUR PLATFORM, AND WE’RE GOING TO OPEN WITHDRAW FROM TOMORROW, BUT THERE SHOULD BE ABOUT 100 WITHDRAW SO FAR IN TERMS OF THE TOTAL VOLUME. TIM: HOW MUCH MORE DOES THAT VOLUME INCREASE? LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT INTERNALLY TO PREPARE FOR?

YOU MEAN THE WITHDRAW, RIGHT? TIM: YEAH, WITHDRAWALS.

YEAH, THE WITHDRAW ACTUALLY STABILIZED A LOT TODAY. I THINK YESTERDAY WEAVE ALREADY HIT MORE THAN -- WE’VE ALREADY HIT MORE THAN 7,000, SORRY, SHOULD BE 9,000 WITHDRAWAL ORDERS, AND THAT INCLUDES 4,000, JUST IN THE VERY FIRST HOUR. SUSPECT THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, ACTUALLY MOST OF THEM HAPPEN ON THE FIRST HOUR OF THE WITHDRAW RESTART. SO ACTUALLY RIGHT NOW IT STABILIZED ALREADY, AND GOOD NEWS IS THAT EVEN TODAY, WHEN WE OPEN UP THEETH EAR UPWITHDRAWAL, THE INFLOW IS ACTUALLY LARGER THAN OUTFLOW, WHICH ACTUALLY SURPRISED ME A LITTLE BIT.

SCARLET: YOU SAID YOU HAVE A USER PROTECTION FUND OF $464 MILLION FUND. THAT’S KIND OF SERVES AS INSURANCE. HOW IS THIS FUND BEING UTILIZED, AND IS IT BEING DRAWN DOWN?

YES, SO WE ARE USING THE MONEY FROM THE PROTECTION FUND. BY THE WAY, WE ESTABLISHED THE PROTECTION FUND IN 2022, EVEN BEFORE THE COLLAPSE. SO RIGHT NOW THE PROTECTION FUND HAS ABOUT 3,000 BITCOINS, THAT’S VALUED AT 260 MILLION-ISH IN TERMS OF VALUE, SO IT’S OBVIOUSLY LOWER THAN IT WAS BEFORE THE IT. WE DID USE SOME BITCOINS FROM THE PROTECTION FUND TO MOVE TO THE WALLET IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE WITHDRAWAL THAT WE HAVE FROM THE USES.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER PROMISE. WE WILL BE PUTTING OUR COMPANY’S CAPITAL BACK TO THE PROTECTION FUND AND KEEP IT ABOVE 300 MILL. SCARLET: I’M GLAD YOU MENTIONED YOU SOLD SOME BITCOIN. DO YOU THINK THAT SELLING THE BITCOIN IN THE FUND IMPACTED THE PRICE OF BITCOIN IN THE BROADER MARKET? DID YOU SEE ANY RIPPLE EFFECT?

NO, SO WE DID A -- WE DIDN’T REALLY SELL BITCOINS. WE MOVED BITCOINS FROM THAT WALLET TO OUR HOT WALLET. AND BY THE WAY, YOU MAY KNOW THAT BITGET HAS A SPACE WITHDRAW OPENING, SO ON THE FIRST DAY, IT’S ACTUALLY BITCOIN THAT WE ALLOW USERS TO WITHDRAW. I SUSPECT THAT THEY MAY NOT REALLY SELL THEM. SO IN TOTAL, WE’RE NOT HAVING A LOT OF SELL PRESSURE TO THE MARKET. WE JUST SELL IT, AND I DON’T KNOW IF THEY WITHDRAW THEIR BITCOINS AFTERWARDS.

TIM: THANK YOU. GRACY CHEN, APPRECIATE YOU SHARING YOUR STORY TODAY AND THE RESPONSE THAT BITGET HAS HAD OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. I WANT TO NOTE, EVERYBODY SHOULD CHECK OUT THE STORY ON BLOOMBERG TERMINAL WRITTEN BY OUR TEAM ABOUT HOW THIS SPURRED A $463 MILLION CUSTOMER OUTFLOWS. THERE’S MORE INFORMATION IN THERE AS WELL. COMING UP IN JUST A MINUTE, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO DISCUSSES THE CLARITY ACT FALLOUT AND HOW AMERICA NEEDS TO STAY AHEAD IN DIGITAL FINANCE.

AND ALSO, HIS POLITICAL OUTLOOK. SCARLET: TO ACCESS ALL THE LATEST DATA AND NEWS ON CRYPTO, INCLUDING THAT CONVERSATION, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT ALL OUR COVERAGE ON THE TERMINAL AND DO CHECK OUT CRYP GO ON THE TERMINAL. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. SCARLET: WELCOME BACK TO BLOOMBERG TELEVISION. JOINING US NOW FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. IS THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JOINT VENTURE, ANDREW CUOMO.