Binance ustavi izplačila kot hekerji osumljeni kraje milijarde v kripto

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced on Thursday that it had temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals following a suspected security breach. The company stated that approximately $3 billion in assets had been frozen in response to the incident, a figure it warned could rise as investigations continue. Binance pledged to cover all resulting losses and assured users that their funds remained secure. Co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer serves as chief executive officer, posted on the social platform X that the events "do look like a hack on Binance." The exchange described the situation as a "security issue" and said its teams were conducting urgent checks, freezing funds, and cooperating with law enforcement. In a detailed update, Binance indicated that its preliminary investigation suggested the incident might involve a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. According to the company, this compromise allowed an attacker to access a specific service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance noted there was no evidence of a leak of wallet private keys. While the initial frozen amount stood at roughly $3 billion, the company later cited an estimated total impact of around $6.3 billion. A separate estimate from blockchain intelligence firm Arkham suggested that at least $2 billion had already been drained from the exchange’s hot wallets, with some analysts estimating the loss could reach $5.7 billion. These figures have not yet been officially confirmed, and the theft may still be ongoing. Major stablecoin issuers moved quickly to mitigate the damage. Tether, which issues the USDT stablecoin, reported that it had frozen more than $1.567 billion in assets linked to the incident. Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, stated it had frozen over $800 million. World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture associated with US President Donald Trump and his family, froze $27 million of its USD1 stablecoin along with approximately $2 million in World Liberty tokens. The company collaborated with crypto custodian BitGo to execute these freezes. Ripple also participated in the coordinated response, freezing around $200 million in affected funds. Ripple’s senior vice president for stablecoins, Jack McDonald, said the firm was coordinating with relevant parties to track the illicit movements. Market reaction was immediate and negative. Following the reports, Bitcoin dropped by approximately 4.3 percent, falling below the $79,000 mark, while Ethereum declined by 4.6 percent. The volatility highlighted the sensitivity of the broader digital asset market to security incidents at major hubs. Unlike traditional bank deposits, funds held on cryptocurrency exchanges are not automatically insured against theft. Consequently, the responsibility for reimbursing victims often falls to the exchange itself, depending on its policies and financial capacity. Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to violations of US anti-money laundering laws. President Donald Trump granted Zhao a full pardon in November 2025. Although Zhao no longer manages the company, he remains its largest shareholder. Speaking in his capacity as a shareholder, Zhao expressed confidence that all user funds would be fully covered. Binance co-founder Yi He reiterated this commitment, stating that the company would cover all hacking losses without providing further technical details on the nature of the breach. The incident occurred against a backdrop of heightened cybersecurity concerns globally, particularly regarding novel attack vectors enabled by recent advancements in artificial intelligence. Digital currency platforms have long been targets for cybercriminals. In 2025, attackers stole a record $1.4 billion from the exchange Bybit in a single breach attributed to North Korean hackers. Earlier in September 2025, the exchange Bitget reported the theft of approximately $350 million. Data from TRM Labs indicates that attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency in nearly 150 attacks during the previous year. Binance urged users to remain vigilant against scams that might exploit the confusion surrounding the incident. The company advised users not to trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information. It promised to share a full post-mortem analysis once the investigation concluded. Trading on certain products, including the Binance Alpha platform, was suspended as a precautionary measure. The exchange stated that normal operations would resume as soon as the security issue was fully resolved. Law enforcement agencies, token issuers, and blockchain intelligence firms are currently working jointly to trace and freeze additional assets that may still be moving through the network.