Cryptocurrency trading platform Binance announced Thursday that a major security incident impacted roughly $6.3 billion (£4.7bn) in assets, marking what has been described as the largest hack in history. The world's largest crypto exchange confirmed that approximately half of the affected funds have already been frozen with assistance from partner platforms, while assuring customers that it will fully cover all incurred losses.
According to initial internal checks, the breach is believed to have originated from a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer. The compromised device enabled an attacker to execute unauthorized withdrawals from Binance.com. In contrast, Binance.US, a smaller independent platform serving American residents, confirmed that its operations remain completely unaffected by the security breach.
Former Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao, who remains a key shareholder despite no longer managing the company, publicly acknowledged the severity of the event on X, writing that "it does look like a hack." Meanwhile, co-chief executive Yi He expressed gratitude to various cryptocurrency issuers for acting swiftly to lock down assets. Disclosing that platform withdrawals have been suspended, she stated, "Safety first: withdrawals are currently disabled until the environment is confirmed to be secure."
The scale of the attack far exceeds the previous record-setting $1.5 billion heist on the Bybit exchange in 2025, which was linked to North Korea. Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence investigation firm TRM Labs attributed the Binance exploit to the North Korean hacking collective known as TraderTraitor, expressing "high confidence" in its assessment. TRM highlighted that multiple operational signatures of the attack closely parallel prior cyber incidents linked to Pyongyang, including the 2025 Bybit breach.
Speaking on the impact, TRM Labs chief policy officer Ari Redbord characterized the attack as a "watershed moment" for the crypto industry, noting that the perpetrator continues to hold a massive volume of stolen digital assets and warning that tracking and recovery efforts remain far from complete. Addressing inquiries regarding potential North Korean involvement, Binance did not directly comment on the specific attribution but stated, "We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals and bring them to justice."
News of the breach sent shockwaves through cryptocurrency markets, causing Bitcoin to plummet by more than 4 percent, while other prominent digital tokens including Ethereum and Solana recorded sharp declines. The disclosure followed hours of growing speculation, during which several crypto industry observers raised red flags about suspicious activity on Binance before the exchange formally verified the incident.
Industry entities rallied to mitigate the fallout. Major stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle confirmed they together froze approximately $2.4 billion in assets connected to the exploit. Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire stated his company was "closely tracking reports of a potential exploit involving Binance" after freezing over $800 million in funds tied to the incident. Circle co-created and issues USDC, one of the world's largest dollar-backed cryptocurrencies. Similarly, Tether chief Paolo Ardoino, whose firm issues USDT, affirmed that "protecting the industry and our partners is our main priority."
Additionally, World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project linked to US President Donald Trump and his family, reported working alongside partners to freeze stolen funds. Rival exchange Coinbase announced that its systems were unaffected and that it was actively monitoring developments.
Binance noted that the total amount of frozen funds may rise as ongoing investigations proceed. The exchange urged users to rely strictly on official communication channels for verified updates, promising to publish a comprehensive post-incident report upon completing its inquiry.
Founded in China in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, Binance has grown into the dominant digital asset exchange globally, boasting an estimated registered user base exceeding 300 million worldwide and reporting over $160 billion in assets under custody in 2024. Despite its immense market dominance, the exchange has faced intense and ongoing regulatory scrutiny across multiple international jurisdictions.
