Binance Reports $6.3 Billion Crypto Heist, Largest Ever Recorded
The cryptocurrency exchange experienced a massive security breach, prompting temporary suspension of services and coordination with law enforcement to freeze assets.
Cryptocurrency platform Binance has reported being the target of a $6.3 billion heist, a figure that, if confirmed, would represent the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. The company, the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, initially posted conflicting statements on X, assuring users that their funds were safe while also indicating it would cover all losses.
Binance stated late Thursday that the estimated total impact of the incident was approximately $6.3 billion. The company's security teams are working to resolve the issue, and a spokesperson confirmed that user funds are safe. "Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information," the spokesperson said.
Initial investigations suggest the security breach may have originated from a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which reportedly allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance has stated there is no evidence of any wallet private key leaks. The company is working closely with law enforcement, blockchain intelligence firms, and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets. Approximately $3 billion in affected assets has already been frozen on-chain.
In response to the incident, Binance temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals as it conducts security checks and freezes funds. Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle have confirmed freezing assets in coordination with law enforcement. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire reported that his company froze over $800 million, while Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated over $1.5 billion was frozen related to the incident.
The price of Bitcoin dropped by 3.2 percent Thursday evening, falling below $79,000. Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, who stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform, posted on X that user funds are safe. He added that as a shareholder, he expects all user funds to be fully covered. Zhao was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025 and was released from prison last year after being sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, marking the first time an individual received prison time for such violations.