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Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the crypto exchange’s recent $388 million exploit stemmed from a vulnerability in a third-party security product that allowed the attacker to obtain “high-level internal credentials.”In comments to Cointelegraph, Chen said the attacker used those credentials to issue fraudulent withdrawal commands. Bitget’s private keys were not compromised, and its cold wallets were not affected, she said.Bitget said it has since addressed the security flaw and tightened its withdrawal controls, including restricting internal access, adding independent verification for withdrawals and increasing monitoring for unusual activity.The attack occurred on Sept. 24, when Bitget detected unauthorized transfers from several of its hot wallets and temporarily suspended withdrawals. The exchange initially estimated that about $352 million in assets had been affected.Related: Bitget resumes Bitcoin withdrawals as hacker swaps ETH via THORChainBitget has yet to disclose recovery figuresThe exchange has not disclosed how much of the stolen crypto has been recovered or frozen. Chen said some assets have been frozen with help from other industry participants, but Bitget would release a total only after verifying the amounts.Bitget had previously called on THORChain, a protocol for swapping assets between blockchains, to refuse services to addresses linked to the attack.The exchange said it is not asking THORChain to halt its network as it attempts to prevent the stolen assets from being moved. THORChain has said it cannot selectively blacklist individual addresses.“We understand that THORChain operates as a decentralized protocol and has said that it cannot selectively blacklist individual addresses. We respect the technical constraints of different networks and are not asking any protocol to take actions that are not technically possible,” Chen said.Chen also addressed Bitget’s earlier suspicion that North Korea may have been behind the attack.“What was shared previously was based on preliminary indicators identified during the investigation,” Chen said. “Those indicators are still being assessed. Mandiant and SlowMist are supporting the independent forensic investigation, and that work is ongoing. We will share further findings as they are verified,” she added.Additional reporting by Helen Partz.Magazine: THORChain under fire over Bitget, ETH evolves beyond blockchain: Hodler’s Digest

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the crypto exchange’s recent $388 million exploit stemmed from a vulnerability in a third-party security product that allowed the attacker to obtain “high-level internal credentials.”In comments to Cointelegraph, Chen said the attacker used those credentials to issue fraudulent withdrawal commands. Bitget’s private keys were not compromised, and its cold wallets were not affected, she said.Bitget said it has since addressed the security flaw and tightened its withdrawal controls, including restricting internal access, adding independent verification for withdrawals and increasing monitoring for unusual activity.The attack occurred on Sept. 24, when Bitget detected unauthorized transfers from several of its hot wallets and temporarily suspended withdrawals. The exchange initially estimated that about $352 million in assets had been affected.Related: Bitget resumes Bitcoin withdrawals as hacker swaps ETH via THORChainBitget has yet to disclose recovery figuresThe exchange has not disclosed how much of the stolen crypto has been recovered or frozen. Chen said some assets have been frozen with help from other industry participants, but Bitget would release a total only after verifying the amounts.Bitget had previously called on THORChain, a protocol for swapping assets between blockchains, to refuse services to addresses linked to the attack.The exchange said it is not asking THORChain to halt its network as it attempts to prevent the stolen assets from being moved. THORChain has said it cannot selectively blacklist individual addresses.“We understand that THORChain operates as a decentralized protocol and has said that it cannot selectively blacklist individual addresses. We respect the technical constraints of different networks and are not asking any protocol to take actions that are not technically possible,” Chen said.Chen also addressed Bitget’s earlier suspicion that North Korea may have been behind the attack.“What was shared previously was based on preliminary indicators identified during the investigation,” Chen said. “Those indicators are still being assessed. Mandiant and SlowMist are supporting the independent forensic investigation, and that work is ongoing. We will share further findings as they are verified,” she added.Additional reporting by Helen Partz.Magazine: THORChain under fire over Bitget, ETH evolves beyond blockchain: Hodler’s Digest

The line between crypto companies and traditional finance is blurring. Binance is buying a $100 million stake in Circle, Canada’s six largest banks are exploring tokenized deposits and the New York Stock Exchange is working with Blockchain.com to bring US stocks and ETFs onchain.Crypto companies want a bigger role in payments and traditional assets, while banks and exchanges are bringing those markets onchain without giving up their place at the center of the financial system.This week’s Crypto Biz highlights how stablecoins and tokenized assets put crypto companies and traditional finance on increasingly overlapping turf, with both sides vying for control over how money and assets move.Binance bets $100 million on Circle in expanded USDC dealBinance is deepening its ties to Circle with a $100 million investment in the stablecoin issuer and a five-year agreement to expand USDC adoption across the exchange.According to a Tuesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Circle issued Binance 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock at $80.84 apiece in a Sept. 17 private placement. The purchase price was below Circle’s market price before the deal closed. CRCL shares rose following the announcement.The investment comes with a broader commercial agreement around USDC. Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on the amount of USDC held through the exchange’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure.Binance is restricted from selling, transferring, pledging or otherwise disposing of the Circle shares for up to two years, although the lockup can end earlier under certain termination provisions. Binance retains voting rights on the shares during that period.Canada’s biggest banks test tokenized depositsCanada’s six largest banks are jointly exploring tokenized Canadian dollar deposits, a potential new payment rail that would allow digital representations of bank deposits to move between financial institutions.The initiative brings together Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank Group. The first phase will focus on transfers between participating banks, with the system potentially connecting to other digital asset networks later.The project comes after Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions clarified on Sept. 10 that tokenized deposits are “not legally distinct from traditional deposits,” meaning the use of blockchain or other technology does not change their underlying legal treatment.Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, tokenized deposits remain liabilities of the banks that issue them. The participating banks say the model could enable faster, programmable payments, with other deposit-taking institutions potentially joining in the future.The distinction is particularly relevant as Canada develops its stablecoin rules. The country’s framework applies to non-financial institution issuers, while regulated banks and credit unions fall outside its scope. Stablecoin payments surge as crypto market shrinksCross-border stablecoin flows surged nearly 78% to $220.3 billion in the year through June, even as the broader crypto market lost more than a third of its value.According to Chainalysis, cross-border stablecoin flows increased 77.5% while total crypto market capitalization fell 37% to $2.1 trillion. The analytics firm identified 4,708 new cross-border corridors carrying $2.64 billion, although the largest corridors still accounted for 96.1% of total value.Chainalysis said much of the growth came from transfers averaging about $3,000, a pattern more consistent with trade, remittances and savings than speculative activity. Tether economist Philip Gradwell described the activity as having a “steady rhythm” typical of business use, while StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu pointed to demand for dollar access, inflation protection and ways around capital controls outside Asia.Stablecoin adoption has also coincided with greater regulatory clarity. The US enacted the GENIUS Act in July 2025, while the European Union’s MiCA framework and Hong Kong’s licensing regime have brought stablecoins under more formal oversight.NYSE, Blockchain.com team up on tokenized US stocksBlockchain.com and the New York Stock Exchange are teaming up to bring tokenized US stocks and exchange-traded funds to crypto users through a planned alternative trading system.The companies signed a memorandum of understanding covering the new digital ATS, which remains subject to regulatory approval. The agreement also includes a market-data partnership between Blockchain.com and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange’s ICE Data Services.TD Securities’ Reid Noch described the partnership as a bid for retail trading activity, particularly as tokenized markets open the door to 24-hour and weekend trading. Talos’ Tanay Ved said crypto venues are increasingly evolving into multi-asset platforms.Demand is also growing. The value of tokenized stocks has reached $3.14 billion, while the number of holders has climbed 72% to 3.87 million, according to RWA.xyz.The partnership follows the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s introduction of a five-year Innovation Exemption for certain tokenized securities venues. Eligible tokenized stocks must represent actual shares carrying the same economic and governance rights as their traditional counterparts.Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

The crypto treasury model has largely lost its early advantage, with most digital asset treasury (DAT) companies no longer commanding the premiums that allowed them to raise capital and accumulate more crypto without diluting existing shareholders, according to a new report from DWF Ventures.The report, published Thursday, found that only four of the 20 largest DATs by assets under management trade above an mNAV of 1, meaning their market value exceeds the value of their crypto holdings. They are Bit Digital, Strive, Hyperliquid Strategies and BitMine. The widespread discounts suggest investors are no longer willing to pay the same premium for crypto exposure through publicly traded companies.Since Michael Saylor’s Strategy pioneered the Bitcoin treasury model in 2020, most DAT stocks have underperformed simply holding the underlying crypto asset, according to DWF. Even among the DAT stocks that have outperformed, DWF found that the advantage over simply holding the cryptocurrency has generally been small.The report comes as Sequans Communications, a French semiconductor company that launched a Bitcoin treasury strategy last year, disclosed that it sold its remaining 314 BTC, completing an exit it began by redeeming its convertible debt in May. Sequans now holds no cryptocurrency on its balance sheet.Only four of the 20 largest digital asset treasury companies trade at a premium to their crypto holdings. Source: DWF VenturesAccording to DWF, the premium investors paid for DAT stocks generally peaked when the strategy was new and attracting investor attention. Strategy, for example, saw its mNAV peak in late 2024 during Bitcoin’s rally, when demand for leveraged BTC exposure was strong.Related: Strategy unveils $44.1B capital-raising capacity to buy more BitcoinDAT warnings predate the latest downturnDWF isn’t the only firm to warn about falling mNAVs. Standard Chartered raised the issue in September 2025, when Bitcoin and the broader crypto market were booming, warning that an “mNAV collapse” could lead to widespread consolidation among digital asset treasury companies.Galaxy Digital sounded a similar warning last year, arguing that the DAT model “critically depends on a persistent equity premium to NAV.” That premium allows companies to issue shares and use the proceeds to buy more crypto without diluting existing shareholders’ holdings. If shares instead trade below NAV, raising equity to buy more crypto can become dilutive and undermine the strategy’s core financing mechanism.“If the premium collapses, or worse, flips to a discount, the model begins to break,” Galaxy research analyst Will Owens wrote.The model has proved harder to sustain this year, with Bitcoin falling from a record high of more than $126,000 last October to below $60,000 before recovering to around $86,000.Magazine: Bitcoin treasury firms can outperform BTC… but is the risk worth taking?