Cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it was hit by a potential $6.3 billion security breach—an incident that could rank among the largest crypto thefts ever recorded and may be linked to North Korean hackers.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume issued a series of sometimes conflicting updates on X. Binance said user funds were “completely safe,” while also pledging to cover any losses.
In an update late Thursday, Binance put the estimated impact at “around $6.3 billion,” a figure that would make the incident one of the most serious attacks in cryptocurrency history.
The full extent of the damage remained unclear, and Binance had not directly confirmed that funds were stolen. The exchange said its teams were working “around the clock” to address the situation.
TRM Labs, an artificial-intelligence-powered blockchain investigations firm, said several features of the attack were consistent with previous hacks attributed to North Korea.
A Binance spokesman said: “Rest assured that user funds are completely safe.”
“Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information,” the statement added.
Binance said it had partnered with blockchain companies to freeze assets connected to the incident, with approximately $3 billion already frozen on-chain.
“Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions,” the company said.
Binance said it was targeted in a potential $6.3 billion crypto heist, believed to be the largest ever recorded. Founder Changpeng Zhao is pictured
Binance estimated the total impact of the incident at more than $6 billion
“We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak,” Binance added.
The exchange said it would release additional technical information after the investigation concludes and the facts have been “fully verified.”
“Our teams work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets,” Binance said in an earlier post Thursday.
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Deposits and withdrawals were also temporarily halted as Binance carried out security checks, froze suspected funds and coordinated with law enforcement agencies.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle each said Thursday that they had frozen funds linked to the incident.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said on X that the company had frozen more than $800 million in currency connected to the attack “in coordination with law enforcement.”
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company had frozen more than $1.5 billion in currency tied to “a potential Binance exchange hack.”
Bitcoin fell 3.2 percent Thursday evening, slipping below $79,000.
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony stemming from his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as chief executive. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025.
Zhao wrote on X Thursday that “user funds are safe,” while acknowledging that the incident “does look like a hack on Binance.” Although he no longer runs the exchange, Zhao said, “as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered.”
Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks, freezing funds and working with law enforcement
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Zhao was released from prison in 2024 after receiving a sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
He became the first person sentenced to prison for violating the law, which requires U.S. financial institutions to identify their customers, monitor transactions and report suspicious activity.
Prosecutors said no one had previously violated the regulations on the scale attributed to Zhao. He and Binance have also been prominent supporters of several crypto ventures linked to the Trump family.
