Binance sees $5.9 billion outflow amid reports of major crypto breach

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has experienced a staggering $5.9 billion outflow from its wallets, potentially marking the largest cryptocurrency hack on record. The mass withdrawals, observed on platforms like X, affected wallets on Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron networks. Estimations suggest $1.45 billion in Bitcoin and $875 million in Ethereum were transferred, sparking concerns over potential security breaches.

In response, Binance suspended withdrawals, attributing the measure to a "potential security issue" and vouching for the safety of users' funds. The company disclosed that $2.54 billion in verified funds have been frozen in connection with the incident. Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), estimated potential losses to be "slightly over $1 billion," emphasizing the company's commitment to covering the costs and clarifying that he is no longer involved in managing the exchange.

Additionally, stablecoin issuers, including Tether and Circle, moved swiftly to freeze assets linked to the event, with over $2.367 billion in USDT and more than $800 million in USDC being frozen. Ripple also froze related holdings, amounting to $27 million. Binance further took steps by temporarily halting trading on its Binance Alpha service and some purchasing services.

Binance US, operating independently, confirmed its status remained unaffected. As of now, Binance has not disclosed the final loss amount, identified the culprits, elucidated the attack method, or provided a timeline for resuming withdrawals.