Binance suffers estimated $6.3 billion hack, suspends withdrawals
Binance disclosed a cyberattack resulting in an estimated $6.3 billion loss, which would make it the largest crypto theft on record, surpassing last year's $1.5 billion Bybit hack. The exchange has suspended withdrawals for a security overhaul while keeping deposits open, and says it has worked with partners to freeze roughly $3 billion of the stolen funds, with Tether and Circle separately freezing $1.5 billion and $800 million tied to the attack. Binance says it will cover all losses through its SAFU fund and company reserves.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Binance's initial investigation points to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop enabling unauthorized withdrawal transactions, while security firm TRM Labs says with 'high confidence' that North Korea's TraderTraitor hacking unit is responsible. If confirmed, the scale of this breach could intensify regulatory scrutiny of centralized exchanges' security practices and reignite debate over state-sponsored crypto theft funding sanctioned regimes. Binance's promise to cover losses will test the depth of its SAFU reserves and investor confidence in the exchange's resilience.
- Binance reports a record $6.3 billion hack, far exceeding the previous largest crypto theft of $1.5 billion.
- Tether and Circle have frozen a combined $2.3 billion in funds linked to the attack, while Binance says $3 billion has been frozen on-chain overall.
- Security firm TRM Labs attributes the breach with high confidence to North Korea's TraderTraitor hacking group, following Binance's finding that a compromised employee laptop may have been the entry point.
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Published there as: “Binance hacked for an estimated $6.3 billion in record crypto theft”
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