Cryptocurrency giant Binance announced on Thursday that a security incident on its platform has impacted approximately $6.3bn in assets. The world’s largest crypto exchange stated that about half of those affected assets have already been frozen with assistance from other platforms, and promised to cover all user losses.
Investigation and Potential Impact
Initial checks indicate that the suspected breach may have involved a compromised engineer’s laptop, which enabled an attacker to carry out unauthorized withdrawals, according to a series of online alerts from Binance. This event is potentially the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, surpassing a record $1.5bn hack on the Bybit exchange in 2025 that was connected to North Korea.
The security breach affects Binance.com, while the smaller Binance.US platform, which serves American residents, confirmed that its systems remain unaffected. Former Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao posted on X that “It does look like a hack.” Zhao, also known as CZ, no longer runs the company but stays a major shareholder.
Binance noted that the total amount of frozen funds could rise as investigations continue. “We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals and bring them to justice,” the company said, advising users to trust only its official channels for updates. A full report will be published after the investigation concludes.
Industry Response and Market Reaction
Co-chief executive Yi He expressed gratitude on social media to various cryptocurrency issuers for freezing their assets. She added that withdrawals are temporarily disabled until the environment is verified as secure. Following the alerts, Bitcoin’s price dropped by more than 4%, while Ethereum and Solana also experienced sharp declines.
Two major crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, reported freezing a combined total of roughly $2.4bn in assets following the potential exploit. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that his firm is closely monitoring the situation and has frozen over $800m in linked assets. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that his company has frozen about $1.6bn tied to the incident.
Additionally, World Liberty Financial, a crypto enterprise associated with US President Donald Trump and his family, reported cooperating with partners to freeze stolen funds. Coinbase confirmed that its exchange was unaffected and was keeping an eye on developments. Industry observers had raised concerns about a potential security breach hours before Binance officially acknowledged the issue.
Binance was established in China by Zhao in 2017 and currently boasts over 300 million registered users globally, though it has faced regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. In 2024, the exchange reported holding more than $160bn in assets under custody.
