Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, suspended deposits and withdrawals on Thursday after a security incident that it estimates had an impact of about $6.3 billion.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, suspended deposits and withdrawals on Thursday after a security incident that it estimates had an impact of about $6.3 billion.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, said on Thursday it had suffered a major security incident with an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, suspending all deposits and withdrawals as it works with law enforcement. If confirmed as theft, it could become the largest crypto heist on record.
The company’s X account for Latin America said “the total estimated impact is around $6.3 billion,” AFP reported. About half of that amount has been frozen to prevent theft, according to the report. Binance later confirmed that $2.54 billion had been frozen, and said it was aware of “differing figures circulating publicly,” including references to $1.8 billion, according to BusinessToday. Other outlets reported different totals, and Binance has not published a full breakdown.
At about 00:30 GMT on Friday, Binance said all deposits and withdrawals had been “temporarily suspended while our team conducts security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement.” Earlier, spokesperson Ross O’Leary told TechCrunch the company had suspended withdrawals on multiple networks “as a precautionary measure.” The company said it was working “around the clock” and would eventually publish a full post-mortem. “Binance will cover all losses,” it said on X, adding that user funds are safe. Binance said it has found no evidence of private key leaks from its wallets.
Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs the company but remains its majority shareholder, said in a post on X that the exchange had likely been hacked. “It does look like a hack on Binance,” he told AFP, according to the report. His post came hours before the company confirmed the incident, according to TechCrunch. It remains unclear who is behind the attack, and Binance has not said whether it received any communication from the attackers.
How the breach happened is not yet established. The Statesman, citing investigators, reported that a compromised engineer’s laptop may have enabled unauthorised transactions. Binance has promised a technical report, and the claim has not been independently confirmed.
The stablecoin issuers moved quickly. Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said his company had frozen about $1.6 billion “related to a potential Binance exchange hack,” and Circle froze about $800 million, according to TechCrunch. Freezing tokens at the issuer level is one of the few tools available to limit stolen funds, since it prevents the assets from being moved or sold. South Korean exchange Upbit posted a notice advising users to be cautious when withdrawing funds to Binance.
Markets reacted at once. Bitcoin slid below $78,000, a six-week low, and Ether fell to a two-month low. Binance’s own token, BNB, fell by nearly 10 percent at one point before recovering part of the loss, according to AFP, although BusinessToday reported double-digit losses for the token. Stablecoins, which by design move within a narrow range, were largely unaffected. The sell-off came on the same day that technology shares fell sharply on Wall Street, adding to pressure on risk assets.
Binance said it will cover losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and company resources. The company has not said how large the fund is relative to the estimated impact, nor how long withdrawals will remain suspended. Users have been urged to be vigilant for scams, which commonly surge after a breach as criminals impersonate exchange staff or promote fake recovery services.
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For scale, the largest crypto theft on record until now was the roughly $1.5 billion taken from the exchange Bybit in 2025. The Binance figure of $6.3 billion is an estimate of impact, and a large share of that amount has been frozen, so the final amount actually stolen may be far lower. How much can be recovered will depend on how much has been frozen at the issuer level and how quickly the attackers can be traced.
The incident is also a test for the exchange’s reputation. Binance handles a very large share of global crypto trading, and extended withdrawal freezes can trigger a loss of confidence, as seen at other exchanges in the past. The company’s promise to cover all losses will be tested if the figure turns out to be at the high end. The next steps are the company’s post-mortem, any law enforcement findings and a date for resuming withdrawals. Until then, the market is likely to remain on edge.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, suspended deposits and withdrawals on Thursday after a security incident that it estimates had an impact of about $6.3 billion.
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