Astana, 17 October. The crypto exchange Bitget, in terms of use updated on 16 October, has added Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to the list of countries whose residents are restricted from using the platform and its services (BES.media).
The document treats as restricted users people who live in the listed countries and organisations registered or operating there; the exchange reserves the right to block and cancel transactions, suspend access to accounts and limit withdrawals of digital assets, and it prohibits getting round the restrictions with a VPN (BES.media).
The list also includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Japan, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand (BES.media). The report does not say how or when the restriction will apply to existing accounts of residents of Kazakhstan.
Background: The terms changed after an incident on 24 September, when Bitget reported unauthorised withdrawals from some of its hot and warm wallets and first put them at $351.6 million; on 30 September the exchange estimated the total loss at about $388 million. The company said private keys had not been compromised and cold wallets were unaffected; suggestions that North Korean hackers were involved remain unconfirmed (BES.media).
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