Crypto Exchange Binance Freezes Assets After $6.3bn Breach
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, suspended deposits and withdrawals while it investigates a potential $6.3bn security breach. Analysts say…
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suspended all deposits and withdrawals while it investigates a potential $6.3bn security breach. In the first hours after the news, the crypto exchange Binance freezes affected assets and bitcoin tumbled.
Analysts say the incident could be the most significant on record for digital assets. Binance has not explicitly confirmed that funds were stolen, and the full extent of the damage was unclear.
Assets frozen, withdrawals halted
Binance said it worked with partners to freeze the affected assets and had located about $3bn so far. It gave no update on the remaining $3.3bn. Co-founder Yi He said the company would cover "all hacking losses".
An initial investigation suggests the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers, Binance said. That let an attacker gain access to one of its systems and make unauthorised withdrawals.
"As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while our security teams conduct checks, secure wallet infrastructure, and trace affected assets, with the close support of our law enforcement and industry partners," the company said. A spokesperson added: "Rest assured that user funds are completely safe." The company said its teams are "working around the clock".
Binance has 335 million registered users worldwide. It held about $162.8bn in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report.
Markets react
Markets moved fast. In early Asian trading on Friday, bitcoin dropped more than 3% to a six-week low of $76,368. Shares in Coinbase Global slid 4.8%. Strategy, a big bitcoin buyer, fell nearly 6% in extended US trading.
Crypto was already under pressure from higher US interest rates and softer demand from exchange-traded fund buyers, analysts said.
Tether, the stablecoin issuer, said it had frozen nearly $1.57bn in assets linked to the incident. Circle froze more than $800m. World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to Donald Trump and his family, also said it had worked with partners on the response.
Founder weighs in
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017. In 2023 he pleaded guilty to a felony over his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO. Trump pardoned him in 2025.
Zhao wrote on X on Thursday that "User funds are safe!" but said the incident "does look like a hack on Binance." He no longer manages the company, he said, but "as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."
Binance also runs a secure asset fund, a reserve held entirely in bitcoin and intended to protect users in a breach, according to its website.
What analysts say
If confirmed, it could be the biggest crypto heist ever, according to analytics firm Chainalysis and other industry experts. "It's the biggest hack in history," said Aravind Srinivasan, head of the systematic OTC business at market maker GSR.
Tim Sun, a senior researcher at Hong Kong-based HashKey Group, said the breach "may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralised exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks."
Bernardo Brites, CEO of payments and stablecoin infrastructure company Trace Finance, pointed to the threat of artificial intelligence. "It's becoming very hard to counter hacks as AI can find vulnerabilities faster than you can fix them," he said.
"My view is that users will move away from smaller and medium-sized exchanges, [as it is] becoming too risky to park your money somewhere that couldn't cover a hack of meaningful size."
