Binance Says $6.3bn Stolen in Biggest Crypto Heist in History

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced that approximately $6.3 billion in funds were stolen in a "security incident" that appears to be the largest ever crypto heist. To address the situation, Binance suspended all deposits and withdrawals, and froze around $3 billion in funds following the suspected hacking. The investigation suggests a hacker gained unauthorized access to an engineer's compromised laptop, enabling unauthorized transactions.

Binance promised to cover all losses, reassuring users that their funds remained safe. The company stated it was working closely with law enforcement to identify the criminals and bring them to justice. Binance's founder and largest shareholder, Changpeng Zhao, confirmed that the exchange had been hacked.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM assessed the attack with "high confidence," attributing it to North Korea's hacking unit, TraderTraitor, which investigators have linked to the Lazarus Group. TRM's head of policy, Ari Redbord, deemed the attack "unprecedented" and "watershed," emphasizing its global security implications. The Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-backed hacking group, previously orchestrated a $1.5 billion heist on Bybit in 2025.

The Bitcoin price dropped by about 5 percent following the heist, falling below $77,000. Crypto market expert Sean Foley at Macquarie University in Sydney warned that the attack could erode confidence in centralized exchanges among retail investors, potentially dampening prices of crypto assets. He noted that centralised exchanges are only as secure as the exchange itself, and larger exchanges become attractive targets for cybercriminals.

Binance, founded by Zhao in China in 2017, manages about $155 billion in assets, making it the most valuable exchange globally according to CoinMarketCap.