Bitget Hack Spurs Call for Thorchain Intervention
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, publicly appealed to the Thorchain network on Saturday to block addresses associated with the hackers who drained $387.5 million from the exchange earlier this week. The request came two days after Bitget first disclosed the scale of the breach.
Chen argued that decentralization “is a design principle, not a shield for facilitating known stolen funds.” This statement underscores a growing debate within the cryptocurrency community regarding the responsibilities of decentralized protocols when confronted with illicit activity originating from centralized exchanges.
Thorchain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that facilitates cross-chain swaps. Its governance structure and permissionless nature present a challenge to centralized requests for intervention. Blocking addresses would require a consensus from the network’s validators, and could set a precedent for future requests, potentially impacting the protocol’s core tenets of censorship resistance.
The Bitget hack involved a variety of assets, and the exchange has stated it is working to recover funds and compensate affected users. The incident has reignited discussion about the security of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges and the potential benefits – and drawbacks – of decentralized finance (DeFi) alternatives.
Market context
Market data reflects conditions at publication time and is not updated in real time.
Data captured at: Sep 27, 2026 00:39 (Tehran)
Likely market impact
| Segment | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | ● Neutral |
| Ethereum | ● Neutral |
| Altcoins | ▼ Negative |
| Short term | ● Neutral |
| Long term | ● Neutral |
Spot prices at publication
Fear & Greed Index
Source: Bitcoin.com News