Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is investigating a potential security issue that its founder described as "a hack on Binance." The company stated late Thursday that the estimated total impact of the incident exceeds $6 billion, which could make it one of the most significant security breaches on record.
While the full extent of any potential theft remains unclear, Binance reported that its teams are working urgently to address the situation. "Rest assured that user funds are completely safe," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement. The company indicated that its security teams are reviewing all relevant information and will provide updates through official channels once facts are verified.
Binance reported on its X account that the estimated total impact reached approximately $6.3 billion. The exchange stated it has collaborated with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with about $3 billion frozen on-chain so far. The initial investigation suggests the incident may have involved a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, enabling an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. However, Binance confirmed no evidence of any wallet private key leak.
More technical details will be released after the investigation is complete and facts are fully verified. The company also noted that it is working with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms, and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets. All deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily suspended during the security checks and fund freezes.
Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle confirmed they had frozen funds in response to the incident. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated on X that his company froze the equivalent of over $800 million in currency associated with the incident, in coordination with law enforcement. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reported on X that his company froze over $1.5 billion in currency related to the potential Binance hack.
The price of Bitcoin saw a slight drop, falling 3.2% on Thursday evening to trade below $79,000.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. He stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025. Zhao posted on X Thursday that while he no longer manages Binance, he expects "all user funds will be fully covered."
Zhao was previously sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which mandates U.S. financial institutions to verify customer identities, monitor transactions, and report suspicious activity. Prosecutors stated that no one had previously violated these regulations to the extent Zhao did. Zhao and Binance have been significant supporters of some of the Trump family's crypto ventures.