Binance hit by what may be history's largest hack: $6.3bn in assets affected, about half frozen
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platform, has been hit by a major cyber attack in which digital assets worth $6.3bn were affected. The incident is initially being regarded as the largest hack in the history of the cryptocurrency sector.
Binance said about half of the affected assets have been frozen. A large part of the rest, however, remains in the hackers' control. The company has promised to fully compensate those affected.
On Thursday (29 October), Binance said a preliminary investigation had found a link between the incident and the hacking of one of its engineers' laptops. Using that laptop, the attackers were able to move digital assets without authorisation.
Two blockchain analytics firms have blamed the attack on a North Korea-linked hacker group called 'TraderTraitor'. They say the incident has surpassed even the record of the $1.5bn hack at the Bybit crypto exchange in 2025.
TRM Labs, an AI-based investigative firm, said various features of the Binance attack match earlier North Korea-linked cyber attacks, including the Bybit hack.
Ari Redbord, TRM Labs' head of global policy, said the incident is unprecedented for the cryptocurrency industry. A huge amount of stolen assets is still in the hackers' hands, so tracking and recovering those assets will take a long time yet.
Eric Jardine, head of research at another blockchain analytics firm, Chainalysis, has urged all crypto exchanges to stay alert. Platforms holding vast amounts of digital assets are attractive targets for cyber criminals, he said.
Binance has not directly commented on the attack's possible North Korea link. It said, however, that it is working closely with law enforcement to identify the attackers and bring them to justice.
The attack struck Binance's main platform. Binance US, the affiliate serving customers in the United States, said its operations were not affected.
After the attack, Binance sought help from various cryptocurrency firms to recover the stolen assets. Its co-chief executive Yi He thanked the firms that helped freeze assets. She said withdrawals would remain suspended for now until security is assured.
Cryptocurrency firms Tether and Circle said they have frozen about $2.4bn in assets linked to the possible Binance hack. Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire said his firm froze more than $800m, while Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said they froze about $1.6bn. Circle issues the US dollar-based USDC and Tether issues USDT. Ardoino said protecting the industry and partners is their top priority.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm linked to US President Donald Trump and his family, said it worked with partners to freeze stolen assets. Crypto exchange Coinbase said its operations were unaffected, though it is monitoring the situation.
A few hours before Binance's security problem became public, several observers in the cryptocurrency sector had already voiced concern about a possible hack.
Founded in China in 2017, Binance is now one of the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, thought to have more than 300 million registered users worldwide. In 2024, Binance said the digital assets in its custody were worth more than $160bn.
After news of the hack spread, the price of Bitcoin fell by more than 4 percent. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and Solana, also fell significantly.
