Binance freezes $2.54 billion in assets after potential security breach

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stated on Thursday that approximately $3 billion in funds had been frozen following a suspected security breach. The exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while its teams conducted urgent security checks and coordinated with law enforcement authorities. Although Binance did not initially confirm that funds were stolen, the company pledged to cover all resulting losses and assured users that their remaining assets were secure. The estimated total loss from the incident stands at approximately $6.3 billion, potentially marking the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. The incident appears to have begun around 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. Initial investigations suggest that an attacker gained unauthorized access to the system via a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer. According to Binance, the hacker used this access to trigger unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, characterized the event as a hack in posts on the social platform X. He noted that the breach seemed to involve an injection attack on the front end, where incorrect transaction data was injected while displaying valid transaction details for users to sign. Zhao also referenced reports from Singaporean police indicating that Ledger’s supply chain in Singapore had been compromised. Multiple organizations joined the effort to freeze illicit funds. Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, confirmed it had frozen more than $1.5 billion, with CEO Paolo Ardoino specifying the amount as nearly $1.57 billion. Circle, issuer of USDC, froze over $800 million, according to CEO Jeremy Allaire. Ripple also participated in the containment efforts, freezing roughly $200 million in funds. Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, stated the company was monitoring reports of the exploit and coordinating with relevant parties. Additionally, World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture linked to US President Donald Trump and his family, worked with custodian BitGo to freeze $27 million in stablecoins and approximately $2 million worth of World Liberty tokens. Yi He, a co-founder of Binance, emphasized that the exchange would bear all hacking losses. She stated that the amount of frozen assets could continue to rise as Binance works with law enforcement, token issuers, and blockchain intelligence firms to trace and seize additional property. The exchange also temporarily suspended trading on its Binance Alpha platform as a precautionary measure. Binance promised to release a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation concludes. The company operates a security fund held entirely in Bitcoin, designed to protect user assets against cyberattacks. Market reactions were immediate and volatile. Bitcoin dropped 3.2% on Thursday evening, trading below $79,000. By Friday morning during Asian trading hours, Bitcoin had fallen another two percent to a six-week low of $77,646. Ether declined by approximately two percent to a two-month low of $2,238.76. The BNB token, used for fees on the Binance platform, lost more than eight percent of its value within 24 hours. Shares of Coinbase Global, a major competitor, fell 4.8 percent. Sean Foley, a crypto market expert at Macquarie University in Sydney, noted that a breach of this magnitude risks shaking confidence among retail investors. He observed that assets held on centralized exchanges are only as secure as the exchange itself, suggesting the incident might drive traders toward decentralized alternatives. Miguel Morel, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, said data indicated billions of dollars had been moved by an unknown actor, though the exact mechanism was still being confirmed. Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, stepped down as chief executive in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony regarding failures to prevent money laundering. He served a prison sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, becoming the first individual sentenced for such offenses. Prosecutors described the scale of his violations as unprecedented. President Donald Trump granted Zhao a pardon in November 2025. Despite leaving operational management, Zhao remains the largest shareholder and spoke publicly about the incident in that capacity. The breach adds to a pattern of significant thefts in the sector. Researchers at TRM Labs reported that attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks in the previous year. In September, the exchange Bitget disclosed that approximately $350 million had been stolen from its platform. Authorities have warned that organized crime groups are increasingly utilizing cryptocurrencies to transfer funds across borders outside traditional financial systems. Separate entities clarified their status regarding the incident. Binance.US, a distinct entity, stated it was not affected. Coinbase also reported that it was unaffected by the breach but was monitoring the situation. In an unrelated event earlier on Thursday, prediction market operator Polymarket briefly halted trading due to a security issue with a third-party provider before resuming operations and offering full reimbursement to affected traders. Binance serves more than 300 million registered users globally and holds approximately $160 billion in assets under custody, according to its 2024 annual report. The company urged users to rely solely on official channels for updates and to remain cautious of scams. It maintained that its security teams were reviewing all relevant information with urgency. The exchange reiterated that it was working around the clock to resolve the issue safely and thoroughly, aiming to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice in collaboration with international law enforcement partners.