Updated September 24, 2026, after Bitget confirmed a hack worth around $350 million. The original review ran in July 2026.
Bitget grew into one of the largest exchanges in the world on the strength of one product: the biggest copy trading ecosystem in crypto. It backs that with a full reward stack of Launchpool, Launchpad and PoolX, which puts it squarely in farming territory. It also hosts a dedicated AirdropAlert page with a welcome pack worth up to 6,200 USDT. Until this week, it had one more selling point: a clean security record. On September 24, 2026, an attacker drained around $350 million from its wallets. This updated review covers the whole platform: products, fees, the hack, what Bitget did about it, and whether it still belongs in your exchange lineup.
What Is Bitget?
Bitget launched in 2018 and now serves more than 120 million users across 100+ countries. It ranks among the top exchanges globally by derivatives volume. Under CEO Gracy Chen, the platform built its identity on copy trading. Around 130,000 verified elite traders and over a million copiers make it the largest verified copy trading ecosystem of any CEX.
Its security story changed this week. After eight years without a wallet breach, Bitget lost roughly $350 million to a hack. A Protection Fund backed by 5,500 BTC and monthly Merkle-tree proof of reserves are meant to cover exactly this scenario. The US is blocked entirely, and regulatory coverage elsewhere varies by region. EU and UK readers should check local availability before committing.
The September 2026 Hack
On September 24, 2026, on-chain trackers spotted a fresh wallet buying 7,111 ETH on Arbitrum with USDT0 pulled from a Bitget hot wallet. Within an hour, around $183 million had left three hot wallets and one cold wallet across several chains. A second trail on the XRP Ledger added about $143 million. The attacker swapped stablecoins into ETH fast, beating any freeze by Tether or Circle. Withdrawals stalled while users waited for answers. Later that day, Bitget confirmed the hack and put losses at approximately $350 million. We logged every step in our Bitget hack report.
CEO Gracy Chen says user funds are not at risk. The Protection Fund, worth about $351 million in July 2026, roughly matches the loss. So a full payout is possible, but it will use up most of the fund. How Bitget rebuilds that cushion, and how quickly withdrawals return to normal, will decide how much trust it keeps.
For context, this is a different kind of incident from Bitget’s April 2025 VOXEL problem. That one was a trading-bot flaw exploited for around $100 million. This one was wallet access, which is the risk every centralized exchange carries.
Platform Overview
Bitget runs a Unified Trading Account that covers spot, futures, margin, bots and earn products in one place. The mobile app is strong and clearly built for daily use. Copy trading sits front and center rather than buried in a submenu. TradingView charting is integrated, though the native tools run a little more basic than Kraken’s or OKX’s.
Underneath sits a VIP tier system based on 30-day volume and BGB holdings. Paying fees in BGB, Bitget’s native token, knocks 20% off across the board.
Products
Copy trading remains the headline. It spans three products: futures copy, spot copy and CFD copy. The CFD version launched in April 2026 and covers forex, commodities and index contracts. Elite traders publish full public stats, including win rate, max drawdown, profit factor and follower count. Copiers pay a profit share of roughly 10% on winning trades only, with no subscription and no management fee. A practical filter: a track record of six months or more, combined with max drawdown under 15%. That surfaces consistent performers rather than lottery tickets.
Futures offer deep liquidity and consistently rank top-5 globally by open interest. Leverage runs up to 125x on majors, with standard USDT-M and Coin-M contracts. In February 2026, Bitget cut maker fees on its tokenized stock perpetuals to zero, a signal of its push into TradFi assets.
Spot trading covers 1,300+ coins, an upper-tier catalog.
Launchpool, Launchpad and PoolX are the reward engines. You stake BGB or other assets to farm new token distributions, and Launchpad offers early access to vetted token sales. For farmers, the stack compares directly with Bybit’s. It’s also where our partner page plugs in, with a welcome package worth up to 6,200 USDT.
Bitget Wallet and Onchain extend the ecosystem into Web3. The wallet is self-custody with swap functionality. Nothing in the hack points to the wallet app; the breach hit the exchange’s own wallets.
Trading bots and Earn round things out, with grid and DCA bots included free.
What Makes Bitget Stand Out
Two things. First, copy trading at a scale nobody else matches. For anyone who wants trading exposure without running positions themselves, this is the deepest talent pool available. Second, reward density. Between Launchpool, PoolX, Launchpad and near-constant campaigns, Bitget hands out free tokens at a pace only Bybit rivals.
BGB itself has held up as one of the stronger exchange tokens. Fee discounts, Launchpad access and staking perks, including free withdrawal allowances, give it real utility beyond speculation.
Deposits & Withdrawals
Crypto deposits are free. Fiat rails run through cards, P2P and regional payment partners, with quality that varies by region. This is a crypto-first platform, not a banking app.
Withdrawals carry standard per-network fees. USDT is supported on several cheap networks: TRC20, BEP20, Polygon, Arbitrum and Optimism, so stablecoin exits stay near-negligible. KYC is required for full functionality. After the hack, expect withdrawal processing to run slower than usual for a while, and check Bitget’s official status page before you rely on a fast exit.
Fees
Competitive across the board, with the BGB discount doing real work.
| Market | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | 0.10% (0.08% with BGB) | 0.10% (0.08% with BGB) |
| Futures | 0.02% | 0.06% |
Spot pricing matches Bybit and Binance at base and beats them with the BGB discount active. The futures taker rate of 0.06% runs slightly above OKX and Binance at 0.05%, the same small premium Blofin and Bitunix carry. VIP tiers push rates toward 0.02%/0.04%. Copy trading adds no platform fee beyond the elite trader’s profit share. Funding on perpetuals applies every 8 hours.
Security
Bitget’s security stack looks solid on paper, and most of it still stands. The Protection Fund holds 5,500 BTC, valued at about $351 million in July 2026. Monthly Merkle-tree proof of reserves runs above 120% coverage and is user-verifiable. Bitget holds ISO 27001 and 27701 certifications and AA ratings from CertiK and CER.live. Cold storage holds the bulk of user funds.
The September 2026 hack showed the limits of that stack. Both hot and cold wallets were hit, which suggests the attacker reached signing infrastructure rather than a single exposed key. Until Bitget publishes a post-mortem, the exact vector stays unknown. The fund and the CEO’s guarantee are the safety net, and the payout will be the real test.
The structural caveats haven’t changed. It’s a Seychelles-based custodial exchange blocked in the US. Proof of reserves covers tracked assets rather than the company’s full liabilities. Standard CEX rules apply, now with extra weight: keep only active trading funds on the exchange. Our self custody vs exchange guide covers where the rest should live.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The largest verified copy trading ecosystem in crypto, across futures, spot and CFDs
- A full reward stack: Launchpool, PoolX, Launchpad and constant campaigns
- Protection Fund of 5,500 BTC, roughly matching the hack loss, plus monthly proof of reserves
- 1,300+ coins and top-5 derivatives liquidity
- A welcome package worth up to 6,200 USDT via our partner page
- Cheap USDT withdrawals across multiple low-cost networks
Cons
- A $350 million wallet hack in September 2026, with the recovery still in progress
- Futures taker fee (0.06%) slightly above OKX and Binance
- Blocked in the US, with fiat rails patchy in some regions
- BGB exposure required for the best fees and Launchpad access
- The app can feel cluttered for anyone who just wants to buy and hold
Final Thoughts
Bitget still does two things better than almost anyone: copy trading and reward density. Those haven’t changed. What has changed is the trust column. The clean record that set it apart from Bybit and Binance is gone, and the company now has to earn it back the way Bybit did in 2025, by paying everyone and keeping withdrawals open.
If Bitget delivers on that, it stays in the top tier. Until then, treat it as a trading floor, not a vault. Use it for copy trading and launchpool farming with balances you’re actively working. Starting through our partner page still puts a welcome pack worth up to 6,200 USDT on the table. For a side-by-side view of where to move funds instead, read our Bitget vs Hyperliquid comparison, and browse all our exchange reviews in one place.
Once your account is live, trade it with a foundation. Our trading fundamentals guide series covers the groundwork, and our trading blog shares the setups we’re planning on BTC, ETH, SOL and altcoins.
FAQ
Is Bitget safe? It suffered a hack of around $350 million in September 2026, its first wallet breach since 2018. Bitget’s CEO says user funds are not at risk, and its Protection Fund of 5,500 BTC roughly matches the loss. It remains a custodial exchange, so keep balances lean.
Was Bitget hacked? Yes. On September 24, 2026, an attacker drained hot and cold wallets across several chains for approximately $350 million. Bitget confirmed the hack the same day.
How does Bitget copy trading work? You pick from 130,000+ verified elite traders and review their public stats. You allocate margin, and your account mirrors their trades automatically. Elite traders take roughly a 10% share of profits only, with no subscription and no fee on losing trades.
What are Bitget’s fees? Spot costs 0.10% maker and taker, reduced to 0.08% by paying in BGB. Futures cost 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker. VIP tiers lower both further.
Does Bitget have a launchpool? Yes. Launchpool, PoolX and Launchpad all distribute new tokens to stakers, which makes Bitget one of the most active reward platforms alongside Bybit. Our partner page adds a welcome pack worth up to 6,200 USDT.
Is Bitget available in the US? No. Bitget blocks US users entirely. Availability elsewhere varies by region, so check current local access before signing up.
