Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Breach Linked to Compromised Engineer Device

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, disclosed a major security incident on Thursday that affected approximately $6.3 billion in assets. The company stated that investigators found a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer allowed an attacker to access a service container. This breach enabled the submission of unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance has not yet confirmed whether specific user funds were stolen, noting that its teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency.

The exchange reported that roughly $3 billion in affected assets have been frozen on-chain so far. It worked with blockchain partners to implement these freezes to prevent the movement of funds. Binance also suspended all deposits and withdrawals while it conducts security checks and coordinates with law enforcement. The company said it will share more technical details once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified.

Major stablecoin issuers responded by freezing funds linked to the incident. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced that the company froze the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency in coordination with law enforcement. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that his company froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in currency related to the potential hack. These actions aim to trace and secure assets that may have been moved during the breach.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, confirmed the nature of the event on social media. He stated that the incident looks like a hack on Binance but assured followers that user funds are safe. Zhao added that as a shareholder, he expects all user funds will be fully covered. He is no longer the CEO, having stepped down in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony related to money laundering. Trump pardoned Zhao in 2025, and he was released from prison last year after serving time for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

The market reacted to the news with a drop in bitcoin prices. The cryptocurrency fell 3.2% on Thursday evening to trade under $79,000. Binance said its initial investigation found no evidence of a wallet private key leak. The company emphasized that it is working closely with law enforcement, issuers, and blockchain intelligence firms to trace additional assets. The scale of the impact places this incident among the largest security breaches recorded for a cryptocurrency exchange.