Binance hit by $6.3 billion hack, the biggest in crypto history

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed late on Thursday that it was hit by a hack with an estimated total impact of $6.3 billion. If the figure holds, it would be the biggest crypto theft ever recorded.

The exchange suspended all deposits and withdrawals while it runs security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement. It said it had identified and frozen about $3 billion in assets that passed through wallets linked to the attackers.

Co-founder Yi He said user funds are safe and that Binance will cover all losses. The company warned that the total affected, and the amount recovered or frozen, could still change.

Binance said an initial investigation traced the breach to a compromised laptop. The access let the attacker reach a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions. The exchange said it had found no evidence of private key leaks from its wallets.

Former chief executive Changpeng Zhao, who remains the majority shareholder, was among the first to flag the incident, saying it looked like a hack on Binance. Early on-chain reports pointed to large transfers across Ethereum, Bitcoin and TRON.

Frozen funds

• Binance: about $3 billion identified and frozen so far.

• Tether: chief executive Paolo Ardoino said it froze about $1.6 billion linked to the suspected hack.

• Ripple: Yi He said roughly $200 million was frozen.

TRM Labs investigator Nick Carlsen told the Wall Street Journal the attack was “absolutely North Korea.” Binance has not named a suspect or confirmed that link.

Crypto markets fell on the news. Bitcoin dropped below $77,000, and liquidations passed $1.5 billion. BNB, Binance’s own token, fell nearly 10% before recovering to trade 2.7% higher. Stablecoins held their value.

Binance has told users to be wary of scams and to trust only its official channels for updates. Funds held on exchanges are not automatically insured in the way bank deposits are.