Binance Hit by Record $6.3 Billion Crypto Heist

Binance has suspended all deposits and withdrawals after hackers stole an estimated $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency, marking the largest known theft in history, according to reporting from TechCrunch and Ars Technica.

Binance stated an initial investigation revealed attackers compromised a company engineer's laptop, allowing them to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The exchange noted it found no evidence that private keys were leaked. While Binance spokesperson Andie Cooper told TechCrunch that industry partners have frozen approximately $3 billion, analysts at Elliptic told Ars Technica that attackers converted about $3.3 billion into assets that cannot be frozen.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs attributed the attack to "TraderTraitor," a North Korean hacking cell. TRM Labs noted the theft took roughly 20 minutes. The group was previously linked to a $1.4 billion heist at Bybit in 2025. Elliptic further noted that some stolen funds ended up in a wallet used in a $351 million attack on Bitget earlier this year.

Binance co-chief executive Richard Teng told customers their money is safe and the company is covering losses using a reserve fund and company funds. Co-founder Changpeng Zhao stated on X that the company has reserved over $6.34 billion to cover the incident, including $5 billion in the specific impacted token assets. Zhao added that the company holds SpaceX shares worth over $1 billion to help manage the remaining gap. Co-chief executive Yi He noted that the company's yearly revenue is enough to offset the losses.

Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority confirmed it is engaging with Binance regarding the incident. Additionally, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated his company froze approximately $1.5 billion of USDT stablecoins.