The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has disclosed that a major security breach has affected digital assets worth approximately $6.3 billion, in what could become the biggest cryptocurrency heist in history.
The exchange said about $3 billion of the affected assets had been frozen through collaboration with blockchain partners, while pledging to cover all losses from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and company funds.
In a security incident update published on Friday, October 30, Binance said preliminary investigations suggested that hackers gained access through a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer.
According to the exchange, the compromised device enabled the attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions.
Binance, however, said it had found no evidence that private keys to its wallets were leaked.
The company also reassured customers that their funds remained safe, adding that it would publish a detailed technical report after completing its investigation.
As an immediate precaution, Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks.
It also revoked authorisation for the affected addresses and engaged law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover the assets.
The breach was initially estimated at between $5.5 billion and $5.8 billion following suspicious movements from several Binance hot wallets.
Blockchain security firm Blockaid reported that multiple wallets were drained across different blockchain networks, with the stolen assets transferred to addresses associated with the suspected attacker.
The incident prompted swift intervention from major cryptocurrency companies, particularly stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle.
Tether froze more than $1.56 billion in USDT linked to the incident, while Circle froze more than $800 million in USDC.
Other blockchain partners also joined efforts to restrict the movement of the affected assets.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, welcomed the intervention by the two stablecoin issuers and expressed confidence that customers would not suffer losses.
The scale of the incident has raised fresh concerns about cybersecurity and the vulnerability of cryptocurrency exchanges, even as the industry continues to attract institutional and retail investors.
If confirmed at the estimated value, the incident would surpass the February 2025 Bybit hack, in which approximately $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen.
The breach has also unsettled the wider cryptocurrency market, triggering declines in major digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance’s native BNB token.
Market analysts are closely monitoring the situation as investors assess the implications for confidence in cryptocurrency exchanges and the security of digital assets.
Binance said it was working with relevant authorities and industry partners to establish the full circumstances of the incident and recover the affected assets.
The exchange maintained that all customer losses would be covered and promised an updated proof of reserves after completing its remediation exercise.
