Daily Crypto Briefs 
VICTORIA, Seychelles, October 18, 2026
Bitget is ending services for selected customers as its terms restrict Russia and Belarus, with some account notices reportedly requiring withdrawals by October 21 at 07:00 UTC, bringing an immediate access deadline to users while Bitcoin trades near $81,600.
The exchange’s English agreement, updated October 16, names those countries among prohibited jurisdictions. Its separate October 17 announcement describes individual notifications covering next steps and withdrawal arrangements, without publishing one cutoff for every affected account.
Bitcoin closed October 17 at $81,381.40, down 0.146%, after a session range of $80,700 to $81,812, according to ChartExchange’s composite history. Those completed UTC-session figures provide market context; they do not establish a price reaction to Bitget’s restrictions.
In its official statement on X, Bitget said the platform continues operating and described the terminations as a one-off exercise for certain users. Its assertion that funds remain safe is a company assurance, separate from whether a particular customer retains trading or withdrawal access.
The account action follows the exchange’s September wallet breach and phased withdrawal reopening plan. The reviewed announcements do not link the new eligibility restrictions to that incident, and a notice ending service should not be read as evidence of another hack.
Bitcoin
BTCSource: ChartExchange, checked October 18. Selected completed daily closes show the broader market, not Bitget-specific fund flows. The unfinished October 18 session is excluded.
Bitget notices set October 18 and 21 restrictions
Interfax reported on October 17, citing customer notifications, that new trades, orders and subscriptions would become unavailable at 10:00 Moscow time on October 18. That converts to 07:00 UTC, a scheduled start that had already passed at this article’s October 18, 09:03 UTC review.
The same reported notices tell recipients to close all positions and withdraw assets before 10:00 Moscow time on October 21, also 07:00 UTC. Remaining positions would close automatically, and account login would become restricted from that time, according to the report.
Those are reported instructions to notified customers. They do not demonstrate that every Russian, Belarusian or other affected account has an identical schedule, nor establish that all restrictions were implemented exactly when scheduled.
Cointelegraph’s account of Bitget’s announcement says notifications will arrive by email, in-app message or push notification. It says customers without official notifications can continue using their accounts as usual, subject to existing terms.
The distinction between stopping new activity and ending account access is consequential. Closing an existing futures position, redeeming a subscription and withdrawing a token are separate operations. A customer may need to complete more than one step before an account’s stated deadline.
Automatic position closure also changes who controls the timing of a trade. Even without a new security incident, a mandated exit can remove a customer’s ability to keep a hedge or leveraged position open. The public materials do not quantify losses from these terminations.
Russia and Belarus appear in Bitget’s eligibility terms
The current English Terms of Use explicitly include Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in the prohibited-country definition. They treat people residing in those locations, and entities established or operating there, as restricted persons who are ineligible for services.
That wording reaches residence and business operations, rather than simply identifying a passport nationality. The agreement’s country list is also broader than those three jurisdictions, including the United States, France, Germany and Japan.
TokenPost reported that Russia and Belarus are the new entries, while Kazakhstan was already listed. That distinction prevents the current list from being mistaken for three newly introduced country restrictions.
Bitget has not publicly disclosed the number of accounts selected, the balances involved or a specific regulatory order behind this exercise. The general notice therefore does not support a reliable estimate of how much cryptocurrency customers must move.
The development sits alongside wider pressure on Russia-linked crypto services, but that background does not establish the cause of Bitget’s decision. A private platform’s eligibility policy and a government prohibition are distinct actions requiring separate evidence.
Nor does being absent from this round of notifications override the eligibility agreement. The company’s continuity assurance remains subject to its terms, rather than creating an exemption for every account that has not yet received a message.
Bitget’s earlier exits used different withdrawal arrangements
Bitget’s August notice for Japanese residents stopped new registrations from August 3, scheduled gradual account restrictions from November 1 and said remaining positions would be forcibly closed from December 31 onward.
For customers who believed they had been incorrectly classified, that notice specified address verification and a November 1 deadline. It illustrates why account categorization and the timetable attached to it require checking against the relevant country notice.
The French-user arrangements published in March took another form: liquidation and withdrawal deadlines, followed by transfers of remaining assets to a licensed crypto provider. Those France-specific transfer provisions should not be assumed to apply to the October exercise.
A separate check of Bitget’s breach tracing update still found approximately $387.5 million in transfers to attacker-controlled addresses from the September incident. The page identifies receiving addresses and says some funds were frozen, without giving a final recovered total or affected-customer count. As of 09:03 UTC October 18, the reviewed account-closure reporting established no new attack wave or additional theft total.
Fear & Greed Index
October 18, 2026Alternative.me’s Bitcoin-focused sentiment index read 53, or Neutral, versus 55 a day earlier. It measures broad market sentiment, not Bitget’s solvency or the success of withdrawals.
The next substantive evidence will be account-specific completion notices, confirmed withdrawal access and any fuller explanation of the eligibility change. Until then, October 21 remains a deadline reported for some recipients, while the complete scope and financial impact remain undisclosed.
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Primary sources and further reading
| Source | Title |
|---|---|
| | Bitget: Terms of Use, updated October 16 |
| | Bitget: October 17 statement on selected-user service terminations |
| | Bitget: Important notice for Japanese residents |
| | Bitget: French-user transfer and liquidation arrangements |
| | Bitget: Security incident tracing and recovery update |
Fact-checked by: Daily Crypto Briefs Fact-Check Desk
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bitget leaving Russia and Belarus?
Its English terms, updated October 16, list Russia and Belarus as prohibited jurisdictions. Bitget separately announced service terminations for selected users with account-specific notifications. It did not publish a complete affected-account list.
What is the Bitget October 21 withdrawal deadline?
Interfax reported customer notices requiring positions to be closed and assets withdrawn by October 21, 2026, at 10:00 Moscow time, or 07:00 UTC. Bitget's general statement does not establish that deadline for every affected account.
When do the reported Bitget trading restrictions start?
The notices described by Interfax say new trades, orders and subscriptions become unavailable on October 18 at 10:00 Moscow time, or 07:00 UTC. Account holders should check their own official notification.
Is Bitget shutting down for everyone?
No. Bitget describes a one-off exercise for certain users and says the platform continues operating. Customers without an official notice can continue under the exchange's terms, including its eligibility restrictions.
Are the account closures connected to the Bitget hack?
The reviewed announcements establish no connection to the September breach. Bitget's tracing update reports about $387.5 million transferred to attacker-controlled addresses, but the October account notice is not evidence of a new theft.