Crypto giant Binance freezes $2.5bn of assets over suspected hack

On Thursday, cryptocurrency giant Binance disclosed that it had frozen digital assets worth over $2.5bn to safeguard them from potential theft while it investigates a security concern. The company announced via online alerts that all deposits and withdrawals were temporarily halted for security checks, and assured that it would cover any losses incurred.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who retains a majority stake in the firm, confirmed suspicions of a hack. He noted that Tether and Circle, two other prominent crypto platforms, have also frozen $1.7bn in stolen assets. Circle's CEO, Jeremy Allaire, stated that his company is actively monitoring reports of a potential exploit related to Binance and has frozen more than $800m in assets connected to the incident.

Circle specializes in the USDC, one of the largest US dollar-backed cryptocurrencies. Binance stated that the amount of frozen funds could rise as they collaborate with law enforcement and other partners to track and seize additional assets. They emphasized their commitment to maintaining the safety of users' funds, urging users to rely solely on official Binance channels for updates.

Following the alerts, Bitcoin plummeted by approximately 5%, while the prices of other major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Solana experienced significant declines.