1. Bitget keeps its 2027 US launch plan
Bitget, which ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, still intends to open for business in the United States in 2027, Chief Executive Gracy Chen said in an interview published on October 28. The plan stands even though the Clarity Act, the market-structure bill that many in the industry had counted on, failed in the Senate last month. Chen also discussed the exchange's recovery from a roughly $388 million theft in September, its expansion into Thailand and a possible public listing within five years.
The comments show an exchange trying to keep a long-term growth strategy on track while it repairs its reputation on security. Each of the threads, from Washington to Bangkok, ties back to the same question Chen returned to repeatedly: whether users and regulators will trust the platform with their money.
2. Why is Bitget still going to the US without the Clarity Act?
Chen says an American presence is part of Bitget's long-term strategy, and that it does not hinge on whether Congress passes a comprehensive crypto law. The company is approaching the market in stages rather than in a single leap. In her words, the exchange is heading toward the United States "little by little."
The practical steps are modest for now. Bitget plans to launch a US-facing website next year, and a small local team is already working on license applications. Chen travels to the United States roughly once every quarter to meet regulators and prospective partners, building relationships before the commercial launch begins.
She described the US as a market worth having over the long run, while conceding that entering it demands heavy spending in the short term. Even so, she said Bitget is in no hurry. That patience is notable for an exchange that competes with rivals already established in the country, and it suggests the company would rather arrive with licenses and partners in place than race to capture early users.
For a foreign-based exchange, the gradual route matters. American oversight of digital-asset trading is split among several agencies, and companies typically need approvals before they can offer products to residents. Opening a local team first, then a website, and only then a full commercial service allows a firm to learn what regulators expect before it commits its largest investments. Chen's description of regular visits to meet officials and partners fits that sequence, with relationship-building preceding the launch itself.
3. What happened to the Clarity Act?
The Clarity Act was a proposed US law meant to set out which regulators oversee which digital assets, and under what rules exchanges and token issuers would operate. Hopes of passing it ended last month after Senate Democrats raised concerns about conflicts of interest. Their objections centered on the possibility that President Donald Trump and other senior officials could profit from their own personal crypto ventures while the government wrote the rules for the sector.
The bill did not gather the 60 votes required in the Senate to overcome a filibuster, the procedural tactic that lets a minority block a vote on legislation unless a supermajority agrees to proceed. Without that threshold, the measure could not advance.
For exchanges that want to serve American customers, the stall leaves the existing patchwork of agency oversight in place instead of a single statutory framework. Bitget's decision to proceed anyway indicates that at least some international platforms are willing to work within that uncertainty.
The episode also shows how closely the industry's plans had been tied to the bill. Companies that wanted clarity on questions such as which tokens count as securities and which as commodities had hoped the law would settle them in one stroke. Its failure pushes those questions back to regulators and courts, which is the environment exchanges operated in before the proposal arrived. Chen's position is that this is a workable environment for a company willing to be patient.
4. A friendlier climate since early 2025
Chen argued that the failure of the bill does not erase the broader change in Washington's attitude toward digital assets. She said the regulatory mood in the United States has been more welcoming to crypto since early 2025, and that this shift is what makes a launch feasible regardless of the legislation's fate.
Her reasoning separates two things that are often lumped together: a new law and the day-to-day posture of agencies. A statute would give firms durable rules, but a friendlier approach from regulators can still open doors for license applications and partnerships. Bitget is betting that the second factor is enough to proceed, even if the first remains out of reach.
5. Recovering from a $388 million hack
The most pressing task for the exchange is repairing trust after a September attack in which hackers took close to $388 million by exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party products. That makes it the largest crypto-industry theft of the year by a wide margin.
Some customers left the platform after the incident. Chen described the number as insignificant, but she said Bitget wants to win those users back, and that the safety of assets is the central concern for people deciding where to keep their funds.
The exchange rebuilt its systems and revoked every credential that had been involved. It also reviewed the third-party vulnerabilities that attackers used and shared details of the incident with two outside investigators, Mandiant and SlowMist, which are both security firms that specialize in analyzing breaches. Chen added that Bitget is now applying artificial intelligence to its cybersecurity work.
Her explanation for the AI approach was straightforward: people get tired, while software can review code with less effort and at far greater scale. Bitget uses AI for monitoring and for defenses against fraud and money laundering, in addition to code review.
Chen said customers have raised the hack with her frequently. Right after the interview, she planned to visit the office of an institutional client to speak directly about their concerns, an illustration of how much of the recovery effort is happening face to face rather than through public statements.
The incident also underlines a recurring pattern in exchange breaches, in which attackers look for weaknesses in the software and services that surround a platform instead of the platform's own core code. The vulnerabilities in this case sat in third-party products, which is why Bitget's response covered credentials and outside components, not only its internal systems. Involving independent investigators gives the exchange an external check on its findings, something large platforms increasingly use to reassure clients that the cleanup was thorough.
6. How did the protection fund respond?
Bitget absorbed the losses through its protection fund, a reserve the exchange launched in 2022. The fund is designed to cover breaches that are not caused by users' own misconduct, so that customers are not left bearing the cost of a theft from the platform. The exchange drew on the fund after the September attack, and then replenished it with more than $300 million from its own reserves.
Chen said the industry remains a heavy target for hackers, and she argued that exchanges have a responsibility to shield users from losses when a breach occurs. She said she regrets that the fund had to be used, but she is glad it allowed the platform to take on the loss itself instead of passing it to customers.
A protection fund of this kind is a common feature among large exchanges, and its value is tested only when something goes wrong. Bitget's case is an example of the mechanism being used at scale, followed by a visible refill to restore the cushion.
Chen's remarks reflect a view that has become widespread among large exchanges: that standing behind customers after a breach is part of the cost of operating. By describing the fund as a reason users can feel safer, she framed the September loss as a test the platform passed financially, even as she acknowledged the damage to confidence that the hack caused and the work still needed to rebuild it.
7. Thailand comes next, then a possible IPO
Beyond the US, Bitget is pushing into Southeast Asia. On October 20, it announced plans to enter Thailand by acquiring GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, a digital-asset exchange based in Bangkok. Chen said Indonesia and Vietnam are also under consideration as future markets.
She pointed out that many Southeast Asian jurisdictions introduced crypto rules in 2025 and 2026, which has made the region easier to approach. Bitget is open to discussions anywhere in Asia where licensing schemes are well developed and capable partners are available.
Two of the region's best-known financial centers are not on the list. Chen said she is not interested in Singapore or Hong Kong, describing Singapore as small with high compliance costs.
On the company's longer-term ambitions, she said she wants to take Bitget public, with an initial public offering planned within five years. An IPO would turn the privately held exchange into a listed company subject to the disclosure rules of public markets.
Taken together, the Thailand acquisition, the Southeast Asian shortlist and the US plan describe a strategy built around markets where rules are clear enough to obtain licenses and where local partners can be found. Chen's dismissal of Singapore and Hong Kong, two jurisdictions often seen as natural hubs, shows that Bitget is weighing compliance costs and market size closely rather than following the usual route.
8. What to watch next
The key milestones are the launch of Bitget's US website next year, the progress of its license applications, and the completion of the GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics acquisition in Thailand. Observers will also look at whether users who left after the hack return, and whether Indonesia or Vietnam become the next targets.
Chen closed with a Chinese idiom about the importance of having the right timing, the right place and the right people. She said Bitget needs favorable conditions and a crypto-friendly environment to operate, which is the logic behind a strategy that moves ahead step by step instead of waiting for a single legislative breakthrough.