Gracy Chen
Gracy Chen is a Chinese entrepreneur, media professional, and technology executive who serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bitget. Under her leadership, Bitget has pursued a “Universal Exchange” (UEX) strategy, expanding from a crypto-derivatives platform into a multi-asset venue that lists cryptocurrencies alongside tokenized stocks, commodities, and other tokenized real‑world assets. She previously founded the virtual‑reality startup ReigVR and co‑founded the platform‑as‑a‑service provider Accumulus.[1]
Education
Gracy Chen earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Applied Mathematics from the National University of Singapore. She then completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the MIT Sloan School of Management. While at MIT Sloan, Chen served as Co-president of the MIT Sloan Blockchain Club, where she deepened her exposure to blockchain technology, marketing, and entrepreneurship.[1]
Career
Gracy Chen began her career as a host and producer at Phoenix TV from July 2014 to August 2015, where she reported on financial events, hosted programs, and interviewed prominent tech leaders.[1]
After Phoenix TV, Chen served as Co-founder and CMO at Accumulus from September 2015 to May 2017. Accumulus provided PaaS solutions for sharing economy firms and individuals in China, focusing on labor subcontracting, income settlement, automatic tax declaration, and insurance guarantee services.[1]
From June 2017 to September 2020, Chen was Founder and CEO of ReigVR, a tech startup based in Beijing, China. Under her leadership, the company secured angel investment of 3 million RMB and reached a valuation of 20 million RMB in 2017.[1]
She then became Chief Marketing Officer (CN) for XRSPACE from October 2020 to April 2022, leading the company’s marketing efforts in China, developing and executing marketing strategies, and managing various aspects of business development.[1]
Blockchain Career
Gracy Chen first developed an interest in crypto after meeting Tim Draper and his cryptocurrency-focused team. She was drawn to the industry by its potential for decentralization and for enabling cost-effective international money transfers, which addressed challenges she had faced in China.[4]
She began investing in cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and DOGE. Her involvement deepened when she invested in BitKeep, a portfolio company of Bitget. This connection led her to join Bitget as a marketing lead.[4]
“Initially, I mainly invested in the secondary market, such as BTC, ETH, and DOGE, gradually increasing my portfolio to include not only the secondary market, but also the primary market.”
Her career path was also shaped by her work as a television show host, particularly a 2015 interview with Ray Kurzweil that highlighted the transformative potential of AI.[4]
“Basically in our conversation and also in his book he had some very interesting predictions in terms of how AI may surpass the intelligence level of human beings. And now you see AI is really everywhere. It's really empowering and changing our life.”
The crypto-friendly regulatory environment of Hong Kong further strengthened her interest, making it an attractive hub for web3 businesses and startups. Chen's path into the crypto industry combined these experiences with the advantages she perceived in the blockchain space.[4]
Bitget
Gracy Chen first joined Bitget in June 2022 as Managing Director. In this role she oversaw global market growth and expansion, strategy and execution, and business and corporate development, and was responsible for elevating the exchange's presence in the crypto ecosystem and supporting its continued growth.[1][2]
In May 2024, she was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, succeeding founder Sandra Lou.[10][7]
As CEO, Chen has outlined an expanded strategic vision that emphasizes convergence across centralized and decentralized finance, broad tokenisation of traditional assets, AI-driven user tools, and payments-focused on-chain infrastructure. In interviews marking Bitget's seventh anniversary and in a subsequent profile, she set out several named initiatives and product positions: UEX (the "Universal Exchange") as the exchange’s positioning to converge CEX, DEX, and traditional finance and pursue "full asset coverage" once assets are tokenized on-chain; GetAgent, an AI trading and advisory agent designed to execute strategies and assist users; and Morph Chain, a public chain for payments and stablecoin use that will not issue a separate token but will use BGB as its native economic token.[8][7] In her 2026 New Year letter, Chen described UEX, AI, and compliance as the three pillars guiding the company’s next phase of growth.[9]
Chen described GetAgent as an industry-leading AI tool capable of information gathering, diagnostics, and direct order execution, forecasting that "placing orders through AI agents will significantly change user trading habits over the next one to three years." She framed UEX as enabling "full asset coverage," allowing tokenized stocks, commodities, forex, and other asset classes to trade on a single platform once placed on-chain.[8][7]
Under Chen's stated roadmap, BGB is positioned as the core ecosystem token across the exchange, wallet, and Morph public chain; Morph will "not issue its own token; it will directly use BGB." Bitget has also promoted on-chain product offerings tied to its wallet and Morph infrastructure, and launched promotional programs such as the "God Mine" Launchpool, which has featured high APR staking campaigns for BGB and partner tokens.[8]
In 2026, Bitget expanded its UEX strategy by launching Reality, a platform for tokenized U.S. equities that allows users to trade selected U.S. stocks around the clock alongside crypto assets. Chen has said that about one-fifth of the exchange’s daily trading volume comes from non-crypto assets such as tokenized stocks and commodities, reflecting institutional demand for integrated collateral and multi-asset trading on a single venue.[10]
In a July 2026 mid-year address, Chen described Bitget’s evolution from a crypto exchange into what she called a "holistic universal provider," framing the UEX model as a way to remove friction between historically separate financial markets. She outlined four guiding principles for the strategy: improving capital efficiency, delivering global assets through a crypto-native experience, expanding financial access through tokenized and pre-IPO products, and simplifying trading through AI-powered automation.[12] She reiterated her "10% tokenization" vision for capital markets and highlighted offerings such as Stock+ and Reality as early examples of how tokenization could broaden access. In the same remarks, Bitget reported serving more than one million AI trading users alongside more than one million copy-trading users, and Chen characterized the company’s mission as shifting from "banking the unbanked" to "brokering the unbrokered."[12]
Chen has highlighted real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, stablecoins and payments, and AI as key growth engines. She described stablecoins and payments as potential "next killer application[s]" after trading, and pointed to Bitget's collaborations and historical support for major stablecoins (USDT, USDC) and early support for newer projects such as Ethena/USDe, alongside strategic investments in some stablecoin projects to drive payment and remittance use cases on Morph.[8][7]
In public remarks, Chen has also reiterated Bitget's market positioning and scale as it expands. She has used the UEX framing to describe the aim of offering tokenized access to "any asset the universe can offer," and interviews in late 2025 referenced the exchange as a Top 10 platform with a broad global user base.[7]
During her time at Bitget, the company announced on October 5, 2023, that Chen was appointed to the Forbes Business Council, an invitation-only interactive hub for entrepreneurs.[3]
"I am deeply honored by this appointment and look forward to collaborating with other visionary business leaders on the Forbes Council. This is a tremendous opportunity to help drive mainstream adoption of digital assets and further our mission of building an open and inclusive industry." - Gracy Chen
Volunteering
Gracy Chen’s volunteering began as a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, where she participated for six years from July 2015 to July 2021. As a Global Shaper, she joined a leadership initiative that brings together young individuals with leadership and innovation skills who are committed to social responsibility. The group focused on projects addressing a wide range of global challenges, including issues related to the economy, environment, education, gender equality, culture, and technology.[11]
Additionally, Chen has served as a bilingual moderator and hostess for the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) since 2015.[11]
In October 2020, Chen co-founded SheShapes, a social services project that evolved from her earlier initiative SheShapesSTEM. This volunteer effort focuses on empowering ambitious women by providing guidance and training to help them make informed life and career decisions. With an emphasis on promoting women’s growth, SheShapes has aimed to help women achieve their goals and aspirations, with Chen maintaining ongoing involvement in the project.[11]
In October 2025, it was announced that Chen, through Bitget, is formally supporting the first-ever global UNICEF Game Jam. This initiative, part of Bitget's partnership with UNICEF's Game Changers Coalition, is a virtual hackathon for young people across eight countries to create original video games. The project reflects her commitment to using blockchain as a tool for education and empowerment, and to giving youth, especially girls in emerging economies, access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) skills.[5][6]
As part of her work on diversity and inclusion in the industry, Chen also created and champions Bitget's "Blockchain for her" program, an initiative aimed at fostering greater female participation and leadership in Web3.[7]
Chen also teaches a graduate-level course in crypto finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where she is described as a lecturer and guest professor. The course covers Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, stablecoins, RWAs, AI-driven protocols, and regulatory developments, and incorporates industry case studies and guest speakers.[6][1]
Market Views & Strategy
Gracy Chen has outlined a market outlook and product strategy focused on diversification, risk management, and user education. She has recommended defensive positioning for traders using high leverage and advised that investors without any exposure to major assets like BTC, ETH, or BGB consider adding a modest allocation over time while avoiding aggressive leverage.[8] She has warned that aggressive long strategies with high leverage should be reconsidered in favor of more defensive approaches.[8]
Chen has promoted tokenised assets as a core part of portfolio diversification under UEX, including tokenised gold and other RWA products, and described tokenised gold and similar commodities as set to play a hedging role amid volatile 2026 markets. She has also emphasized that product diversification must be paired with user education, positioning AI tools such as GetAgent as both execution and educational assistants to help users navigate tokenized assets and manage risk.[8][7]
In a 2026 outlook shared with Blockzeit, Chen argued that the earlier "crypto versus TradFi" narrative is giving way to convergence, with unified platforms such as UEXs reducing friction as capital moves across on-chain and traditional rails. She projected that stablecoins would become core infrastructure for cross-border payments in 2026 amid de-dollarisation trends and the rise of multi-currency settlement, and suggested that ICO-like, community-driven fundraising could see a resurgence as market participants seek transparent, on-chain startups. She has also characterized clear regulation around custody, stablecoins, and RWA tokenization as enabling infrastructure that can lower barriers to institutional participation rather than acting solely as a constraint on the sector.[13]
In later comments on the 2026 market environment, Chen argued that weaker spot liquidity in crypto has pushed exchanges toward broader financial services, and that institutional clients increasingly want to trade stocks, commodities, and crypto in one place and to post tokenized equities as collateral. She has framed Bitget’s "everything exchange" approach as a way to navigate a more muted crypto-only cycle by diversifying volume into tokenized traditional assets.[10]
September 2026 Security Incident
Background and Scale of the Exploit
On 24 September 2026, Bitget’s security systems detected unauthorized transfers from a portion of the exchange’s hot wallets at 18:31 UTC, which the company initially estimated affected approximately $351.6 million in crypto assets.[14][15] Later blockchain forensics and media reports cited higher outflow estimates of around $387 million, revising the total size of the attack upward.[16] Bitget stated that its three-tier wallet architecture limited the breach to parts of the hot and warm wallet layers on the exchange side, that its offline cold wallets and the separate Bitget Wallet product were not affected, and that deposits and trading continued to operate while withdrawals were temporarily suspended during a security review.[14][15]
According to preliminary findings described by Chen and external investigators and reported by media outlets, Bitget and its forensic partners suspected that North Korean-linked hackers were responsible, based on VPN and IP information and similarities in the attack pattern to prior operations attributed to North Korean groups.[18][16] Bitget stated that the precise attack vector and attribution remained under investigation but said that it would publish a full incident report and remediation measures once the forensic work was complete.[14] In a later recap of the incident, Chen said the attacker had exploited vulnerabilities in third-party products to steal internal credentials, then used those credentials to issue fraudulent withdrawal commands that bypassed risk controls, while reiterating that private keys and cold wallets were not compromised.[24]
Immediate Response and User Protection
In public statements following the incident, Gracy Chen announced that Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which the company said held more than $464 million, was intended to fully cover user losses so that account balances and assets would remain protected.[14][15] Chen said that attackers had compromised a critical core or backend system within the wallet infrastructure and injected spoofed or false transfer data into internal systems, triggering Bitget’s normal multi-step authorization processes to move funds, while Bitget and Chen stated there was no evidence that private keys had been leaked or directly compromised.[15][17] Bitget reported that it had engaged law enforcement and specialist on-chain security firms, including Mandiant and SlowMist, launched real-time tracking of the stolen assets, and offered bounties and recovery incentives.[14]
In a subsequent update, Chen said the incident had been contained, that affected systems and relevant servers were isolated to prevent further compromise and preserve forensic evidence, and that internal credentials were revoked and reissued with more restricted access to highly sensitive systems. She added that Bitget had notified the relevant third-party vendor, shared details of the vulnerability, and disabled the affected functionality pending a fix.[24]
On 29 September 2026, Bitget published its 47th Proof of Reserves snapshot, reporting a total reserve ratio of 131% across 19 covered assets and stating that the 24 September incident had not affected the reserves backing user balances.[25] The exchange said PoR coverage had been expanded from 4 to 19 assets on 17 September 2026 and that its system uses Merkle tree verification, enabling users to independently confirm whether their balances are included in the snapshot without accessing other users’ data.[25]
Chen also reiterated that user funds were 100% covered by the Bitget Protection Fund, with no user losses, and said the company would restore the fund’s size to more than $300 million within a week using its own capital.[24]
Withdrawal Resumption and Communication
Chen subsequently announced that Bitget would restart withdrawals in phases the week after the 24 September incident. She stated that withdrawals would resume in an “orderly” schedule, with BTC withdrawals reopening at 08:00 UTC on Monday, ETH on Tuesday, USDT on Wednesday, and withdrawals for other assets on Friday.[21] Chen also said she would host a live ask-me-anything session on 28 September 2026 at 07:30 UTC, 30 minutes before the first withdrawals resumed, and that the AMA was expected to last at least two hours to address questions about the attack, withdrawal restoration, and Bitget’s next steps.[21] After the livestream, Chen reported that by 17:00 UTC+8 the platform had processed 9,585 BTC-withdrawal orders totaling about 4,098 BTC on Bitcoin mainnet and BNB Smart Chain, and said withdrawals for ETH, USDT, and other assets would restart in later phases beginning the following day.[24] Bitget later disclosed that after ETH withdrawals resumed on 29 September 2026, ETH inflows and outflows were roughly balanced, with about 9,674 ETH deposited and 9,023 ETH withdrawn as of 09:00 UTC, following the earlier reopening of BTC withdrawals on Bitcoin and BSC on 28 September.[26]
Industry Cooperation and Fund Freezes
Further coverage of the response to the incident highlighted actions by stablecoin issuers and the scale of unfrozen assets. WuBlockchain reported, citing CoinDesk, that Circle and Tether blacklisted an address labeled “Bitget Exploiter 8,” freezing 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC, for a combined value of about $318,000, after Circle acted at 05:00 UTC on 25 September and Tether later followed.[20] The report noted that the frozen funds represented only a small portion of the stolen assets and that other attacker-linked addresses still held more than 63,000 ETH, which could not be frozen by stablecoin issuers.[20]
NEAR Intents, a cross-chain liquidity protocol built on NEAR, reported that its SHIELD risk-intelligence layer detected more than $50 million in attempted laundering flows linked to the Bitget exploit, allowing about $166,000 to pass through but freezing roughly $503,000 of the stolen funds mid-execution pending legal and recovery processes.[27] NEAR Intents stated that it would waive any share of Bitget’s 5%+5% recovery bounty so that more funds could be returned to victims, and argued that permissionless infrastructure should still refuse to facilitate laundering of stolen assets, describing its approach as “permissionless… but with boundaries.”[27] Chen publicly thanked NEAR Intents and SHIELD for their role, characterizing the model as evidence that public blockchains can remain open while incorporating risk detection to exclude hackers.[28]
As part of Bitget’s wider recovery efforts, Chen publicly thanked Circle and Tether “for moving quickly” to freeze exploiter-linked stablecoin balances and announced a “Recovery Bounty Program.” She stated that the program offered a 5% bounty for freezing attacker funds and a further 5% bounty for successful recovery efforts, and called on exchanges, security researchers, and on-chain investigators to participate.[22] Chen also said that attacker addresses were being publicly listed and actively tracked.[22]
Debate Over THORChain and Decentralization
In the days after the exploit, blockchain analytics firm MistTrack publicly criticized the use of the cross-chain protocol THORChain by addresses linked to the Bitget exploiter. MistTrack said it observed exploit-related funds being routed through THORChain for asset swaps and cross-chain transfers and argued that the attacker addresses had already been publicly flagged and were being tracked by exchanges and security firms. It posed a broader question about how the industry should assess the responsibility of protocols that continue to process transactions originating from publicly identified major hacks, stating that decentralization should not be used as a blanket excuse for facilitating the movement of known stolen funds.[19]
Chen said that Bitget was formally asking THORChain to refuse service to attacker addresses and framed the request as part of a broader industry debate on protocol responsibility, arguing that decentralization was a design principle rather than “a shield for facilitating known stolen funds.”[23]
