Hackers have stolen about $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what looks to be the biggest crypto heist in history. Binance confirmed the theft on Thursday and said it would cover all losses, adding that user funds are safe.
Most of the money was taken in about 20 minutes late on Thursday, according to blockchain analysis firms tracking the theft. About $3 billion has since been frozen with the help of partners, while the fate of the remaining $3.3 billion is still unclear.
What happened
Blockchain firm TRM Labs said an attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on 10 blockchains. Another firm, Chainalysis, put the amount stolen at $5.912 billion at the time of the theft, while Binance put the total impact at about $6.3 billion. The figure may still change as the company traces more assets.
Binance said its early investigation points to a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. The attacker used it to reach a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions. The exchange said it found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked, and the affected access has been revoked.
The theft dwarfs the previous record for a crypto heist: $1.5 billion stolen from the exchange Bybit in February 2025. It also shook the wider market, with Bitcoin falling about 5 percent to below $77,000 after the news.
Who is behind it
TRM Labs said it assessed with high confidence that the attack was carried out by TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit linked to the Lazarus Group. Chainalysis agreed that a North Korean group was likely behind it. The FBI blamed the same unit for the Bybit hack in 2025.
Binance itself has not named the attackers, and its investigation is still going on. North Korea routinely denies involvement in cyberattacks and cryptocurrency thefts.
What happens to user funds
Binance said it has set aside more than $6.34 billion in company resources to restore customer balances, including $5 billion already held in the exact token assets affected. It also runs a $1 billion emergency fund, held in Bitcoin, designed to protect users in a security breach.
About $3 billion of the stolen assets has been frozen so far. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle froze more than $2.3 billion between them, and other partners, including World Liberty Financial, froze further amounts. Binance said deposits remain open while withdrawals stay paused pending security checks, and it expects withdrawal services to resume by Sunday.
What happens next
The investigation is still under way, and Binance has promised more technical detail when it is complete. The hack is likely to raise fresh questions about the security of customer funds on large exchanges, at a time when markets are already jittery, as seen in recent business shocks such as US-Canada Tariffs Take Effect Today as 100 New Product Lines Face 50% Duty.
For now, Binance says user funds are safe and all hacking losses will be covered.
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