Bitcoin was exchanged within the $76,300 range on Thursday, coinciding with Binance’s confirmation of a security breach, which the exchange estimates to have a total impact of $6.3 billion. The figure would categorise the incident as one of the most significant cryptocurrency thefts documented to date. Earlier in the session, bitcoin achieved a 24-hour peak of $81,890 prior to the selloff, as millions in leveraged long positions faced liquidation. In a recent post on X, the exchange indicated that its preliminary investigation points to the possibility of a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer as the source of the incident. The attacker allegedly accessed a service container and executed unauthorised withdrawal transactions. The exchange reported that it has not identified any evidence of a leak concerning the wallet’s private key.
“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,” Binance posted on X. The 6.3 billion estimate surpasses previous figures, which were between 2.7 billion and 5.8 billion. The exchange reported that it has collaborated with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3 billion currently frozen onchain. “We will share a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation is complete and the facts are verified,” the company said.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company has frozen over 1.567 billion USDT, while Circle has similarly frozen USDC associated with the suspected attacker. Co-founder Yi He stated on X that user funds are secure and that Binance will assume responsibility for all losses incurred from hacking. Concerns regarding a potential hack have emerged following a user’s observation of over $2.7 billion in assets, comprising Ethereum and stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle, being transferred from a Binance wallet to an external account under dubious circumstances. Deposits and withdrawals are currently on hold as the exchange undertakes security assessments, freezes assets, and collaborates with law enforcement authorities. The exchange has revoked the authorisation for the affected address and is currently engaged in efforts to verify the identities of the individuals accountable.
Aave has reportedly frozen lending markets to prevent the suspected attacker from borrowing against the stolen funds. Binance.US stated that the incident does not impact its platform. The company has yet to provide a timeline for the comprehensive post-mortem analysis. Until then, the exchange advises users to depend solely on official Binance channels for updates. Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, tweeted on X during the exploit: “User funds are safe! It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from [Tether and Circle]. I don’t manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered.” Bitcoin dropped to 76,301 as news of the hack was circulating. Bitcoin is currently trading near 77,800.
