Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said Friday that a security breach had an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, potentially making it the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, as the company raced to freeze stolen assets, suspended deposits and withdrawals, and sought to reassure customers that their funds remained safe.
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange said approximately $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen with the help of blockchain partners. The status of the remaining $3.3 billion was not immediately clear, while Binance co-founder Yi He pledged that the company would cover all losses resulting from the attack.
Binance reports $6.3 billion crypto breach, potentially the biggest hack in history
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An initial investigation suggested that hackers may have gained access through a compromised laptop belonging to a Binance DevOps engineer. According to the company, the breach allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
Binance stressed that investigators had found no evidence that cryptocurrency wallet private keys, the credentials used to control digital assets, had been exposed. It said a full technical report would be published once the investigation was completed.
The exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals, revoked the affected address authorization and enlisted law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence specialists to trace the funds. It also promised to publish updated proof of reserves after completing its security measures.
Bitcoin plunges as crypto markets react
The suspected attack sent shock waves through cryptocurrency markets in early Asian trading Friday.
Bitcoin fell more than 3% to a six-week low of $76,368, while ether dropped more than 3% to $2,178, its lowest level in two months. Binance's BNB token declined 5% over 24 hours to $709.70, according to cryptocurrency market tracker CoinGecko.
The selloff also spread to cryptocurrency-related stocks. Shares of Coinbase Global fell 4.8% in extended U.S. trading, while Strategy, the company known for its large Bitcoin holdings, dropped nearly 6%.
Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis and other industry experts said the incident could become the largest cryptocurrency heist ever recorded.
"It's the biggest hack in history," said Aravind Srinivasan, head of systematic over-the-counter trading at major cryptocurrency market maker GSR.
The breach comes at a difficult time for digital assets, which have already faced pressure from higher U.S. interest rates and weaker demand from buyers of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds.
"It may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralized exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks," said Tim Sun, a senior researcher at Hong Kong-based HashKey Group.
Binance has approximately 335 million registered users worldwide and held about $162.8 billion in assets under custody, according to its 2025 annual report.
Billions frozen as Binance promises to cover losses
Several major cryptocurrency companies moved to freeze assets linked to the breach.
Stablecoin issuer Tether said it had frozen nearly $1.57 billion in assets, while rival Circle froze more than $800 million. Ripple also froze approximately $200 million, according to Yi He.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company linked to President Donald Trump and his family, said it had worked with digital asset custodian BitGo to freeze funds associated with the attack. Yi said approximately $27 million in stablecoins and another $2 million worth of World Liberty tokens had been frozen.
Binance said it would compensate customers using its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, alongside company funds. The reserve, held entirely in Bitcoin, is intended to protect customers against losses from security incidents.
"User funds remain safe," Binance said, adding that the precautionary suspension of deposits and withdrawals would continue while security teams reviewed the exchange's infrastructure.
The company did not provide a timetable for restoring normal operations.
Security experts warned that the incident could have consequences far beyond the immediate financial losses.
"It's becoming very hard to counter hacks as AI can find vulnerabilities faster than you can fix them," said Bernardo Brites, chief executive of payments and stablecoin infrastructure company Trace Finance.
Brites predicted that the breach could accelerate a shift away from smaller cryptocurrency exchanges, which may lack the financial resources to absorb a major cyberattack.
Binance.US, a separate cryptocurrency exchange, said it was unaffected by the incident. Coinbase also said its operations had not been affected and that it was monitoring developments.
A potentially record-breaking cryptocurrency theft
Blockchain intelligence company Arkham said transaction data indicated that billions of dollars appeared to have been taken from Binance by an unidentified attacker.
The incident follows a series of major cryptocurrency thefts that have raised concerns about the industry's security. According to blockchain research firm TRM Labs, hackers stole $2.9 billion in cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks last year.
In September, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget reported that approximately $350 million in digital assets had been stolen from its platform.
Authorities have also warned that organized criminal networks increasingly exploit cryptocurrencies to move funds across borders outside conventional banking systems.
In a separate incident Thursday, prediction market platform Polymarket temporarily halted trading following a security breach involving a third-party provider. Trading later resumed, with the company promising to reimburse affected users.
For Binance, the immediate priorities remain identifying the attackers, tracing the remaining assets and restoring access to customer accounts. The exchange has promised to cover losses, but the ultimate financial cost and how much of the affected cryptocurrency can be recovered remain uncertain.