Crypto giant Binance hit by ‘largest hack in history’
Binance Faces $6.3bn Digital Asset Breach as Industry Races to Contain Losses
Ninoda.com – Binance, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world, has disclosed that digital assets worth about $6.3bn (£4.7bn) were affected in a major security incident. The breach has been described as the biggest cryptocurrency hack on record, surpassing the $1.5bn theft from Bybit in 2025.
The exchange says it intends to fully reimburse affected users. It also said that roughly half of the impacted assets have already been frozen after cooperation from other platforms and cryptocurrency issuers. The scale of the remaining assets in the attacker’s control means tracing and recovering funds will remain a substantial challenge.
Compromised device may have opened the door
Binance’s initial investigation indicates that an engineer’s laptop may have been compromised. That access is believed to have enabled unauthorised withdrawals, although the company has not provided a full technical account of how the attacker moved the assets.
Withdrawals were suspended while Binance assessed the safety of its systems. Yi He, the company’s co-chief executive, thanked cryptocurrency issuers that moved quickly to block funds connected with the breach.
“Safety first: withdrawals are currently disabled until the environment is confirmed to be secure,” Yi He said.
For customers, the temporary shutdown highlights a basic feature of centralised crypto exchanges: while they make digital assets easier to buy, sell and store, users depend on the platform’s security controls and operational decisions during an emergency. A withdrawal pause can help stop further losses, but it can also prevent customers from moving assets until the exchange restores normal activity.
North Korean-linked group identified by analytics firms
Two blockchain analytics companies have connected the attack to TraderTraitor, a hacking operation associated with North Korea. TRM Labs said aspects of the Binance incident resemble previous attacks attributed to North Korean actors, including the Bybit breach.
Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, described the event as an unprecedented moment for the sector. He warned that the work had only begun because the attacker still controls a very large amount of stolen cryptocurrency.
“Watershed moment”
Chainalysis also said it had high confidence that the North Korean group was involved. Eric Jardine, the company’s head of research, urged exchanges to stay alert, noting that trading platforms hold immense pools of value and remain attractive targets for sophisticated attackers.
Binance did not directly address questions about possible North Korean involvement. The company said it was coordinating with law-enforcement partners to identify those responsible and seek accountability.
“We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals and bring them to justice.”
Stablecoin issuers freeze billions
Several major firms acted to restrict assets linked to the suspected theft. Tether and Circle together said they had frozen about $2.4bn in funds tied to the potential Binance exploit.
Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire said the company was closely monitoring the incident and had blocked more than $800m in assets. Circle issues and co-created USDC, one of the largest cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a value close to one US dollar.
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said his company had frozen around $1.6bn connected to the potential exchange hack. Tether issues USDT, another widely used dollar-linked cryptocurrency.
“Protecting the industry and our partners is our main priority,” Ardoino said.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to US President Donald Trump and his family, said it had worked with partners to freeze stolen funds. Coinbase said its own exchange was not affected and that it was watching developments.
The ability of stablecoin issuers to freeze funds illustrates an important distinction within the crypto market. Although many cryptocurrencies are designed to allow transfers without a central bank, certain token issuers retain controls that can block wallets or halt movement of tokens when criminal activity is suspected. Those powers can assist recovery efforts after a theft, while also raising broader questions for users about who can intervene in their holdings.
Market reaction adds pressure
Concerns about a breach circulated within the crypto sector before Binance confirmed the incident. The alerts were followed by a decline of more than 4% in Bitcoin’s price. Ethereum, Solana and other leading cryptocurrencies also dropped sharply.
Market moves after a major exchange attack often reflect more than the immediate value stolen. Investors may reassess the security of platforms that handle customer assets, the possible disruption from suspended withdrawals and the risk that stolen tokens could be moved through other parts of the digital-asset ecosystem.
Binance was founded in China in 2017 and has grown into the dominant global crypto exchange, with an estimated 300 million-plus registered users worldwide. It enables customers to trade a broad range of digital assets and said in 2024 that it held more than $160bn in assets under custody.
The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries, making the security incident particularly significant for a business whose scale makes it central to global crypto trading. Binance.US, a smaller platform serving US residents, said it was not affected.
The episode will intensify attention on how exchanges protect internal systems, supervise access to sensitive wallets and coordinate with token issuers, rival platforms and investigators when a breach occurs. Binance has pledged to cover losses, but the incident has underlined how quickly a single compromised device can create consequences across the wider cryptocurrency market.
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