Circle and Tether froze roughly $318,000 in stablecoins tied to Thursday’s $351.6 million Bitget hack. The intervention traps only 0.09% of the reported haul while the attacker’s ether remains transferable.

  • Exploiter 8 holds 218,023 USDT, 99,990 USDC, and 170.47 ETH
  • Other linked wallets still control more than 63,000 ETH, which issuers cannot blacklist
  • Circle blacklisted the address at 05:00 UTC Friday; Bitget says its $464M+ protection fund covers losses

LaunchBar take: the freeze is symbolic, not a recovery breakthrough. Traders should watch the 63,000 ETH for exchange deposits, bridges, or mixer activity—the next movement could pressure ETH sentiment and test whether Bitget’s protection fund restores confidence without withdrawal disruption.