Binance Confirms Suspected $6.3bn Hack, Freezes $3bn in Crypto Assets

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is investigating a security breach after its founder, Changpeng Zhao, said the platform appeared to have been hacked.

In a post on X on Thursday, Zhao, popularly known as CZ, said users’ funds are safe, even as reports emerged of billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency moving from Binance wallets.

“User funds are safe! It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from Tether ($971m) and Circle ($823m),” he said in a post on X.

Zhao said although he no longer manages Binance, he expects the exchange to cover all user funds.

“I don’t manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered,” he said.

The reported freeze involves USDT and USDC, the stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle, respectively.

Stablecoins are digital currencies designed to maintain a relatively stable value, usually by being pegged to a conventional currency such as the US dollar.

Their issuers have the ability to freeze tokens held at specific blockchain addresses, preventing the assets from being transferred.

In a subsequent statement, Binance said its initial investigation suggests “that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions”.

The company said it has temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits, while adding that the impact of the hack “sits at around $6.3bn”.

“We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak. We will share a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified,” the statement reads.

“The estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B. We have worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with ~$3 billion frozen on-chain so far.

“Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and the company’s funds. User funds are safe. We will also publish an updated Proof of Reserves once the remediation is complete.”

The company also advised users to remain cautious of scams, warning them against clicking unofficial links, responding to suspicious messages or sharing account information through unauthorised channels.