Bitget to Discontinue Services for Some Users in a One-Off Exercise, Says Funds Are Safe

Published October 17, 2026, 15:15 PKT. Based on Bitget's October 17, 2026 X post (primary source), and secondary reporting by Cointelegraph, The Crypto Times, Odaily and BigGo Finance.

Bitget said on Saturday, October 17, 2026, that it will discontinue services for certain users, describing the move as "a one-off exercise for certain users only." In an X post, the Seychelles-based crypto exchange said user funds remain safe and the platform continues to operate normally. The announcement disclosed no number of affected accounts, no selection criteria and no reason for the decision.

The "one-off exercise" announcement

Bitget's post said the service discontinuation applies to certain users as a single, targeted exercise, and was explicit that funds of all users remain safe. The exchange did not say how many accounts are affected, which jurisdictions they are in, or how the users were selected. According to the announcement, the platform continues to operate normally for everyone else.

Bitget said affected users will be contacted through multiple channels, and asked customers to use only official communication channels. The exchange warned users to beware of phishing links, impersonation accounts and unverified information, and pointed users to its asset verification page explaining how to verify their assets in Bitget.

What affected users were told

According to the announcement, users whose accounts are affected will receive notifications by email, in-app message and/or push notification. Those notices will carry the next steps, the relevant deadlines and the arrangements for withdrawing assets.

Users who do not receive any notification can continue using the platform as usual, subject to Bitget's Terms of Use, the exchange said. Customer support is available for questions about pending orders, withdrawals and account issues.

No criteria, no count, no reason

Bitget did not disclose why it is discontinuing services for these users, how they were chosen, or how many accounts are involved. The exchange's Terms of Use list "Prohibited Countries" where Bitget offers no services and reserve the exchange's right to designate more such countries, but Bitget has not said whether the October 17 action relates to those restrictions in any way.

The lack of detail leaves open whether the move concerns compliance, jurisdiction, account risk or something else entirely. As of publication, Bitget has not published any supplementary statement beyond the X post.

Three weeks after the $387.5M hack

The announcement lands about three weeks after the September 24, 2026 attack on Bitget's hot and warm wallet infrastructure, in which roughly $387.5 million was stolen across 12 wallets, according to the exchange's revised figure, up from the initial estimate of about $351.6 million. Chainalysis attributed the theft to North Korea, a story MABOnChain covered on October 14, 2026.

Since the hack, Bitget has said its User Protection Fund was restored above $300 million on September 30, 2026, and resumed withdrawals in phases. The exchange has not linked the October 17 decision to the attack, and nothing in its announcement connects the two.

Bitget's 2026 compliance exits: Japan and France

The October 17 move follows a year of Bitget pulling back in regulated markets. In August 2026, Bitget announced it would end its services in Japan: new registrations stopped on August 3, 2026, accounts move to close-only mode from 11 a.m. JST on November 1, 2026, and remaining positions will be forcibly closed on December 31, 2026, according to The Crypto Times.

Earlier, on January 16, 2026, Bitget stopped new sign-ups in France and Germany, and ended all services for France on March 31, 2026, after discussions with the French regulator AMF. That exit was tied to the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Bitget official X post, October 17, 2026, primary source: exchange to discontinue services for certain users as "a one-off exercise for certain users only"; user funds remain safe; platform continues to operate normally; affected users to be notified by email, in-app message and/or push notification with next steps, relevant deadlines and withdrawal arrangements; users with no notification can continue as usual subject to the Terms of Use; customer support available for pending orders, withdrawals and account questions; warning against phishing links, impersonation accounts and unverified information; asset verification page at https://abcdstable.com/academy/how-to-verify-your-assets-in-bitget; no number of affected accounts, no selection criteria and no reason disclosed
• Cointelegraph, October 17, 2026, secondary source: Bitget to discontinue services for some users; funds safe; platform operating normally
• The Crypto Times, October 17, 2026, secondary source: Japan exit details (new registrations stopped August 3, 2026; close-only mode from 11 a.m. JST November 1, 2026; remaining positions forcibly closed December 31, 2026); France and Germany sign-ups stopped January 16, 2026; France services ended March 31, 2026 after AMF discussions, tied to MiCA; September 24 hack timeline and $387.5 million figure
• Odaily flash, October 17, 2026, 15:40 UTC+8, secondary source: report of the discontinuation announcement
• BigGo Finance, October 17, 2026, secondary source: report of the discontinuation announcement