Binance Crypto Exchange Freezes Assets After $6.3 Billion Security Breach | Today’s news
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said a security breach resulted in an estimated $6.3 billion impact in what analysts say could be the biggest crypto heist of all time and could prompt investors to reconsider the risks of owning digital assets.
Binance said it worked with partners to freeze the affected assets, with about $3 billion so far located. It did not provide any information on the status of the remaining $3.3 billion, as Binance co-founder Yi He said the company would cover “all hacking losses.”
An initial investigation suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers, which allowed an attacker to gain access to one of its systems and make unauthorized withdrawals, Binance said.
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Binance has announced a security breach with an estimated impact of $6.3 billion. His initial investigation suggested that an attacker may have gained access through the engineer’s hacked laptop and made unauthorized withdrawals.
Binance said about $3 billion was found, while Tether, Circle and other firms announced asset freezes related to the incident. The amount and status of the remaining assets have not been fully confirmed.
Binance said that user funds remain safe and that it will cover any losses caused by hacking attacks. It temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while its teams secure wallet infrastructure and monitor affected assets.
Binance suspended deposits and withdrawals as a precaution while its security teams conducted reviews, secured wallet infrastructure, and traced affected assets with the support of law enforcement and industry partners.
Bitcoin and Ether fell more than 3% after news of the breach, while BNB fell 5% in the last 24 hours. The incident also raised concerns about the security of assets held on centralized exchanges.
Markets reacted immediately at the start of Asian trading on Friday.
Bitcoin fell more than 3% to a six-week low of $76,368 and ether fell more than 3% to a two-month low of $2,178. BNB, a token originally launched as Binance Coin that can be used to pay Binance fees, has fallen 5% to $709.70 in the past 24 hours, according to market aggregator CoinGecko.
Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase Global fell 4.8%, while shares of bitcoin buyer Strategy fell nearly 6% in extended U.S. trading.
According to analyst firm Chainalysis and other industry experts, this incident could be the world’s largest crypto theft.
“It’s the biggest hack in history,” said Aravind Srinivasan, head of systematic OTC business at major crypto market maker GSR.
In addition to the potential loss of assets, the security breach is likely to have wider implications for cryptocurrencies, which have already been under pressure recently due to higher US interest rates and softer demand from buyers of exchange-traded funds, analysts said.
“It may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralized exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks,” said Tim Sun, Hong Kong-based principal researcher at HashKey Group.
Binance, which allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets, has 335 million registered users worldwide and had $162.8 billion in assets under custody, according to the exchange’s 2025 annual report.
“User funds remain safe,” Binance said in a statement. “As a precautionary measure, all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while our security teams conduct checks, secure wallet infrastructure and monitor affected assets with close support from our law enforcement and industry partners.”
BINANCE HAS A SAFE FUND OF ASSETS
Binance operates a secure asset pool for users, which is a reserve held entirely in bitcoins to protect user assets in the event of a security breach, according to its website.
“It’s very hard to counter hacks because AI can find vulnerabilities faster than you can fix them,” said Bernardo Brites, CEO of payments infrastructure and stablecoin Trace Finance.
“My view is that users will leave the smaller and mid-sized exchanges, and (it’s) too risky to park their money somewhere that wouldn’t be able to cover a meaningful-sized hack.”
Stablecoin issuer Tether said it has frozen nearly $1.57 billion in assets linked to the incident, while Circle has frozen more than $800 million.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm linked to US President Donald Trump and his family, said on Thursday it had worked with cryptocurrency custodian BitGo to freeze funds stolen in what it said was a hack on Binance. Binance’s Yi said $27 million in stablecoins and roughly $2 million worth of World Liberty tokens were frozen.
Crypto firm Ripple has also frozen about $200 million in funds, Yi said. Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, said the company is closely monitoring reports of potential Binance abuse and is freezing affected funds and coordinating with relevant parties.
INCIDENT ADDS TO CHAIN OF CRYPT THEFTS
Miguel Morel, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, said the data indicates that billions of dollars appear to have been hacked from Binance by an unknown actor.
The incident adds to a string of cryptocurrency thefts. Last year, attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency in nearly 150 attacks, according to researchers at TRM Labs. In September, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget reported that roughly $350 million in cryptocurrencies had been stolen from its platform, underscoring the industry’s vulnerability to hackers.
Authorities have warned that organized crime groups are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to move funds across borders outside the traditional financial system.
Binance.US, a standalone cryptocurrency exchange, said it was not affected by the security incident.
Coinbase said it was not affected and is monitoring the situation.
In an unrelated incident earlier on Thursday, prediction market operator Polymarket temporarily halted trading following a security incident involving a third-party provider. It later resumed trading and said it would fully reimburse affected traders.
