Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, was exploited on Thursday for more than $6 billion, making it the biggest crypto theft on record. The company estimates the damage at around $6.3 billion in stolen assets. Chainalysis later updated its estimate to roughly $5.9 billion at the time of the theft, and Arkham tracked more than $5.7 billion sitting in the attacker's wallets at one point.
Market reaction
Crypto prices slid on the news. Bitcoin fell back toward $77 000, trading around $77 478 (down about 3.2 %). Ether also slipped, reflecting the broader market pressure.
One laptop
Binance's initial investigation points to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop as the likely entry point. The statement read:
"Binance's initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak."
Frozen funds
About $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen, including $2.3 billion in USDT and USDC combined. The token issuers blocked transfers from the affected blockchain addresses, preventing the attacker from moving or cashing out those funds.
Per Arkham, the attacker's wallets held roughly:
- $1.5 billion in Bitcoin (≈ $77 492 per BTC)
- $900 million in Ether (≈ $2 242 per ETH)
- $1.5 billion in USDT
- Over $800 million in USDC
Attribution
Independent investigator ZachXBT, along with intelligence firms Blockaid and TRM Labs, indicated that North Korea was likely behind the hack.
Binance's response
Co‑CEO Yi He posted on X that Binance will cover "all hacking losses" and assured users that their funds are safe. The exchange has suspended withdrawals until the security issue is fully resolved.
Sources