Binance confirmed it suffered a $6.4 billion security breach, marking the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. The stolen funds were distributed across three blockchains: approximately $3.5 billion in Ethereum, $1.4 billion in Bitcoin, and $630 million on Tron.
The breach was traced to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, with additional points of breach identified afterward. Investigators attributed the attack to a North Korean hacker group, based on commingled funds from a concurrent $388 million Bitget exploit.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle deployed freeze mechanisms on their tokens, locking approximately $2.39 billion or 43% of the stolen assets. Aave froze its V3 and V4 markets on Ethereum as a precautionary measure after detecting a wallet linked to the attacker depositing $60 million in USDT and borrowing nearly $45 million in wrapped Ethereum. Between $2.6 billion and $3.2 billion remains unrecovered.
Binance suspended withdrawals on multiple networks and announced it reserved over $6.34 billion in company funds to cover user losses. CEO Changpeng Zhao, the exchange's largest shareholder, stated that user funds would be "fully covered."
Market reaction was immediate. Bitcoin fell to $77,500, Ethereum dropped below $2,200, and BNB declined below $700. Over $1.33 billion in positions faced liquidation.
Hyperliquid Partnership Announcement Overshadowed
The hack's timing undermined what would have been a major milestone for Hyperliquid. Intercontinental Exchange, parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced an investment in Trade.xyz to establish a regulated U.S. venue offering 24-hour perpetual futures on Hyperliquid covering stocks, indices, commodities, currencies, and crypto pending CFTC approval.
Investor Stanley Druckenmiller joined the initiative, disclosing his family office holds a $23 million position in Hyperliquid Strategies. HYPE tokens reached $97 intraday, up over 20% before declining to $93 following the breach announcement, still finishing the day up 8%.
Crypto majors declined in the aftermath: Bitcoin fell 3.6% to $77.5k, Ethereum dropped 4% to $2,235, and Solana declined 4% to $97.
