Bitget Breach Hits $388M as SEC's 'Crypto Mom' Hester Peirce Resigns

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is losing one of its most prominent crypto-friendly voices. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, widely known as "Crypto Mom" for her advocacy of clear, rules-based digital asset regulation, announced she will leave her post on Oct. 2 after roughly eight years on the commission. Peirce shared her resignation letter on X on Friday, thanking the president for the "honor of her professional lifetime" and noting she was departing under the leadership of Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda, the two remaining members. Her term officially expired in June 2025, though commissioners may continue serving up to 18 months afterward if not replaced. Since Feb. 4, 2025, she also directed the agency's Crypto Task Force.

Crypto exchange Bitget has revised the damage estimate from Thursday's security breach upward to approximately $388 million, up from an initially reported $352 million. The exchange said the increase reflects a more complete accounting of assets transferred to attacker-controlled addresses, rather than additional unauthorized transfers. Affected assets included XRP, Ether, Tether's USDt, Zcash (ZEC), USDC, USDT0, XAUt, BNB, AVAX, and TRX, spanning Ethereum Virtual Machine networks, the XRP Ledger, Zcash, and TRON. Withdrawals remain paused as Bitget continues its investigation and has launched a bounty program aimed at freezing or recovering stolen funds. The incident ranks among the largest crypto industry breaches to date, though it remains well below the roughly $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen has pointed to possible North Korean involvement, citing preliminary evidence linking IP addresses used in the attack to VPN services previously associated with a North Korean hacking group. Meanwhile, broader crypto markets traded mixed on the day, with Bitcoin holding near $84,903, Solana climbing roughly 2.16% to $124.00, and Monero steady around $553.33 as traders weighed the regulatory and security developments shaping the industry's near-term outlook.