Binance Hit by $6.3 Billion Cryptocurrency Hack in Potentially Largest Crypto Theft on Record

The cryptocurrency industry is facing one of its biggest security crises after hackers stole an estimated $6.3 billion in digital assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

The security incident, which came to light on Thursday 29 October 2026, has prompted an emergency response involving Binance, cryptocurrency security firms and major stablecoin providers. Binance has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while it investigates the attack.

The exchange has reassured customers that their funds remain safe and has promised to cover all losses resulting from the incident.

Investigation uncovers further security breaches

Binance initially indicated that the attack may have involved a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. According to the exchange, the attacker may have used access to a service container to submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions.

However, an update on Friday 30 October revealed that investigators had uncovered additional potential points of breach.

Binance said it was continuing to gather evidence and working with law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence companies to establish exactly how the attackers gained access.

The exchange has so far found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked, although a full technical post-mortem will be published once the investigation has been completed.

Blockchain investigators have been examining suspicious transactions involving Binance-controlled wallets, with reports indicating that billions of dollars in cryptocurrency were moved within a relatively short period.

Billions frozen by cryptocurrency companies

One of the most significant developments has been the response from stablecoin providers Tether and Circle, which have moved to freeze digital assets associated with the attack.

Tether has reportedly frozen approximately $1.57 billion in USDT, while Circle has frozen more than $800 million in USDC.

Additional assets have also been frozen through cooperation with other cryptocurrency companies, bringing the total value of frozen assets to approximately $3 billion, according to Binance.

Freezing the assets prevents the affected stablecoins from being transferred or exchanged through the relevant networks, potentially making it considerably harder for the attackers to convert their stolen funds into usable money.

However, a substantial amount of cryptocurrency remains unaccounted for, and freezing assets does not necessarily mean they will all be recovered.

Binance promises to cover customer losses

Binance co-founder Yi He has said the company will cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and corporate funds.

The SAFU fund was established to provide an emergency financial reserve to protect customers in exceptional circumstances, including security breaches.

Binance has also confirmed that customer balances will remain protected despite the incident.

As an immediate security measure, the exchange has suspended deposits and withdrawals while it reviews its wallet infrastructure, revokes affected authorisations and works to secure its systems.

The company has indicated that withdrawals could resume within 48 hours, subject to the completion of security checks.

North Korean hackers suspected

Blockchain intelligence companies TRM Labs and Chainalysis have reportedly assessed with high confidence that North Korean-linked hackers were responsible for the attack.

Investigators have pointed to similarities with previous cryptocurrency thefts attributed to North Korean state-sponsored hacking groups.

North Korea has been linked to numerous major cryptocurrency thefts in recent years, with stolen digital assets believed to provide an important source of funding for the country’s operations.

The investigation is continuing, and the identity of those responsible has not yet been officially established.

Cryptocurrency markets react

News of the Binance breach has unsettled cryptocurrency markets, with Bitcoin and several other digital currencies experiencing price declines as investors reacted to the scale of the incident.

The attack also raises wider questions about the security of centralised cryptocurrency exchanges and the risks associated with holding large quantities of digital assets in online wallets.

If the estimated losses are confirmed, the Binance incident could surpass the approximately $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft from Bybit in February 2025, making it the largest known cryptocurrency exchange hack on record.

For now, Binance is concentrating on securing its infrastructure, tracing the stolen assets and restoring normal services.

The incident is likely to attract considerable scrutiny from regulators and cybersecurity investigators, particularly given the enormous financial impact and the possibility that attackers gained access through compromised internal systems rather than exploiting a traditional software vulnerability.