Binance has confirmed a security breach that it estimates caused around $6.3 billion in total impact, and said it will cover all losses using its SAFU fund and company funds. The exchange said user funds are safe and that it will publish an updated Proof of Reserves once remediation is complete.
In its account of the incident, Binance said its initial investigation suggests a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The exchange said it has found no evidence of any wallet private key leak and that it will share a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified.
Roughly $3 Billion Frozen On-Chain
Binance said it has worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3 billion frozen on-chain as of the announcement. The company added that it is cooperating with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds, and said it is working to confirm the identity of those responsible.
Both Binance's official X account and Yi He confirmed that users do not need to worry about their funds and that the firm will absorb all losses. The exchange said its teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue.
Immediate Precautionary Measures
Binance said it has taken the following steps as an immediate precaution:
- Temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while security checks are completed.
- Revoked authorization for the affected address.
- Engaged law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds.
The exchange directed users to rely only on official Binance channels for updates and to contact Binance Customer Support with further questions.
Market Reaction
The news hit the market immediately. Bitcoin fell from above $81,000 to around $76,400 as the situation unfolded, and altcoins sold off broadly, with the wider market trading in the red after the announcement.
Data from Coinglass cited in coverage of the incident showed total liquidations on the derivatives market reaching around $1.5 billion.
Even so, many in the industry expressed optimism, pointing to relatively modest declines given what has been described as the largest hack in recent years, striking the biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
