Binance hack sees $6.3bn in crypto stolen
Billions frozen in assets following a security breach at the exchange, which has pledged to cover customer losses
Hackers have stolen an estimated $6.3bn in cryptocurrency from Binance, in what could be the largest digital asset theft on record.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange reported a security incident on 29 October, prompting stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle to freeze more than $2.38bn in related assets. Ripple also froze approximately $200m, according to Binance co-founder Yi He.
Binance subsequently said it has "begun recovering affected assets for users", with around $3bn of the affected assets so far located through cooperation with industry partners and law enforcement.
The exchange said its initial investigation pointed to a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer, which may have allowed an attacker to access one of its systems and make unauthorised withdrawals. The theft reportedly took place largely within a 20-minute period.
Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis have attributed the attack with high confidence to North Korea (DPRK), citing similarities with previous incidents linked to the country. The attribution has not been independently confirmed by authorities.
Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals while investigating the incident, but said customer funds remained safe and that it would cover all losses.
“This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it,” the exchange said in a statement.
The incident prompted a fall in cryptocurrency prices, with Bitcoin reaching a six-week low of $76,368, while Ether also declined.