Binance reports $6.3 billion security breach

Binance disclosed on Thursday that a potential security issue has impacted approximately $6.3 billion in value. The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange stated that the estimated total impact sits at that figure, marking one of the largest financial exposures in the sector's history. The company confirmed that it is actively investigating the incident, which it describes as a potential hack.

According to an initial investigation by Binance, the breach began when an attacker gained access to a service container via a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop. This access allowed the intruder to submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance noted that it has found no evidence of a wallet private key leak, suggesting the compromise was contained within the operational infrastructure rather than the underlying user wallets. The company stated that it is working closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms, and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.

In response to the incident, Binance temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals. The company said its teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue and conduct necessary security checks. A spokesperson for Binance issued a statement reassuring users that their funds are completely safe. The statement added that security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency and will provide updates through official channels once the information is fully verified. Binance also reported that it has worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with roughly $3 billion already frozen on-chain.

Stablecoin providers reacted quickly to the news. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, wrote on X that the company froze the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency associated with the incident in coordination with law enforcement. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, stated on X that the company froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in currency related to what he termed a potential Binance exchange hack. These actions aim to prevent the stolen funds from moving further through the blockchain network.

The incident caused immediate market turbulence. The price of bitcoin dropped 3.2 percent on Thursday evening, falling below the $79,000 threshold. The decline reflected trader anxiety over the scale of the breach and its potential implications for the stability of digital asset exchanges.

Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017 and stepped down as CEO in 2023, addressed the event on social media. Although he no longer manages the company, Zhao posted that user funds are safe. He added that the incident does look like a hack on Binance. As a shareholder, Zhao stated he expects all user funds to be fully covered. Zhao was released from prison last year after being sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, the first person to receive prison time for that violation. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in 2025.

Binance plans to share more technical details once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified. The company emphasized that it is collaborating with external partners to freeze additional assets as the investigation progresses.