Binance reports potential hack with impact near $6.3 billion

Binance is investigating a potential security breach that hit the exchange on Thursday.

The company estimates the financial impact of the incident at approximately $6.3 billion. This figure places the event among the largest security incidents in the history of cryptocurrency trading.

Binance stated that its security teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue. The company temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals to conduct security checks and coordinate with law enforcement.

The exchange said its initial investigation points to a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. This breach allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance reported that it found no evidence of a leak in any wallet private keys.

To limit the damage, the company worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets. Roughly $3 billion in assets were frozen on-chain by late Thursday.

Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle also moved quickly to secure funds. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on X that the company froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in currency related to the potential hack. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, said the company froze over $800 million in associated currency in coordination with law enforcement.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, commented on the situation on social media on Thursday. He confirmed that the incident does look like a hack on the platform. Zhao noted that user funds are safe and that, as a shareholder, he expects all user funds to be fully covered.

Zhao founded Binance in 2017. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony regarding his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform. He stepped down as CEO after pleading guilty. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in 2025.

Zhao was released from prison last year after serving a sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. He was the first person sentenced to prison time for violations of that law. The law requires financial institutions to monitor transactions and report suspicious activity. Prosecutors stated that no one had violated the regulations to the extent Zhao did.

The price of bitcoin dropped 3.2 percent on Thursday evening to under $79,000. Binance said it will share more technical details once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified.