Binance hit by largest crypto attack in history: $6.3 billion targeted

Binance disclosed that $6.3 billion in crypto assets were targeted in a cyber attack conducted through the compromise of an engineer's laptop. The exchange disabled withdrawals while investigations continue; the total amount of frozen and confirmed assets has reached $2.54 billion.

Initial investigations reveal that the attacker used the compromised engineer's computer to conduct unauthorized withdrawals. The incident has now become the largest crypto theft to date, surpassing the $1.5 billion 2025 Bybit attack, which was allegedly linked to North Korea. While the security issue affects Binance's global platform, Binance.US, a much smaller crypto platform serving American users, announced it was unaffected.

Binance's former executive and key shareholder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated on X that the incident appeared to be a cyber attack.

Binance Co-CEO Yi He thanked various crypto issuers in a series of posts for freezing assets. Yi He said that withdrawals remained disabled until the environment was confirmed to be secure and emphasized that security is the top priority.

Two major crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, announced they had frozen approximately $2.4 billion in assets combined in response to the possible Binance attack. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reported that his company had frozen approximately $1.6 billion in connection with the possible attack, emphasizing that protecting the sector and its partners are core priorities. Circle's Board Chairman Jeremy Allaire noted that his company had frozen over $800 million in assets related to the incident. Like Circle, which issues and co-created USDC, Tether, which issues USDT, ranks among the sector's leading stablecoin platforms.

The exchange stressed that the frozen amount could increase as the investigation advances, committing to cover all user losses. Company officials stated they are working closely with law enforcement partners to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, while calling on users to rely only on official channels for updates. A full report will be issued once the investigation is complete.

Following the attack, Bitcoin lost more than 4 percent in value, while other major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Solana experienced sharp declines. Binance, founded in China by Zhao in 2017, is estimated to have more than 300 million registered users globally; the company disclosed in 2024 that it held over $160 billion in assets under custody.