Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Thursday that it is investigating a potential security issue. Founder Changpeng Zhao stated that the incident appears to be a hack, while the company estimated the total potential impact at approximately $6.3 billion, making it one of the largest such security incidents on record.
Investigation and Asset Freezing
The exact extent of the damage caused by hackers remained unclear, and Binance did not explicitly confirm that funds had been stolen. A company spokesperson assured users that customer funds are completely safe, adding that security teams are reviewing information urgently.
In updates shared on its X account, Binance reported that the estimated total impact reached about $6.3 billion. The exchange has collaborated with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, successfully locking roughly $3 billion on-chain.
Binance’s preliminary investigation indicates that a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer may have allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The company confirmed it found no evidence of any wallet private key leak and promised to share further technical details once verified.
To facilitate security checks and asset freezes, Binance temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while collaborating with law enforcement.
Industry Response and Market Impact
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle took action on Thursday by freezing funds linked to the incident. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire stated on X that his company froze the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency in coordination with law enforcement. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on X that Tether froze more than $1.5 billion in currency related to the potential hack.
Following the news, the price of bitcoin declined by 3.2% on Thursday evening, falling to under $79,000.
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to a felony for failing to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025.
Zhao posted on X on Thursday that user funds are safe and that the event looks like a hack. Although he no longer manages Binance, he noted that as a shareholder, he expects all user funds to be fully covered.
Zhao served prison time last year after violating the Bank Secrecy Act, becoming the first person ever imprisoned for violating that legislation, which mandates that U.S. financial institutions identify customers, monitor transactions, and report suspicious activity. Prosecutors stated that no one had violated the regulations to the extent Zhao did, and both Zhao and Binance have supported certain Trump family crypto projects.
