Binance lost $6.3 billion in a cryptocurrency theft, a sum that makes this the largest heist in the history of the industry. Jayant Dave, the head of information security at Check Point, said the loss makes this the biggest theft in history and clearly exceeds the $1.5 billion Bybit theft from 2025. The exchange, which was founded in China in 2017, has more than 300 million registered users. TRM Labs and Chainalysis attribute the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit also known as Lazarus Group. While Binance froze $3 billion in assets, hackers still hold $3.3 billion.
TRM Labs and Chainalysis attribute the heist to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit also known as Lazarus Group, which previously carried out a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit exchange in 2025. Ari Redbord, the head of global policy at TRM Labs, said the Binance hack is a critical moment for the industry. The North Korean group has a history of attacking crypto companies to steal digital tokens. Western security agencies say these hackers use stolen funds to finance North Korean nuclear and missile programs. The FBI previously linked North Korean hackers to a $1.5 billion theft from a Tokyo exchange last year.
Technical failure and company response
An initial investigation suggests the breach started with a hacked laptop belonging to a Binance technical staff member. Richard Teng, a co-chief executive of Binance, stated that "your money is safe" and the company will cover every loss. The hackers accessed a service container through the laptop to send unauthorized withdrawals. Teng noted the attack was not a "one-click" process. The investigation has not assigned responsibility to any individual or found evidence of private wallet key leaks.
Yi He, a Binance executive, said the company disabled withdrawals to secure the environment. Jayant Dave said the attack resembles the September hack on Bitget where $388 million was stolen, and he suggested attackers no longer need vault keys to target systems and authorized personnel. Tether and Circle froze a combined $2.4 billion in assets in response to the potential Binance hack. World Liberty Financial worked with BitGo to freeze stolen funds. Yi He reported that these efforts secured $27 million in stablecoins and $2 million in World Liberty tokens.
| Entity | Frozen Amount |
|---|---|
| Tether | $1.57 billion |
| Circle | over $800 million |
| World Liberty Financial | $27 million in stablecoins and $2 million in tokens |
Eric Jardine, the head of research at Chainalysis, said exchanges remain targets because of the high value of digital assets. Bernardo Brites, the CEO of Trace Finance, said it is harder to counter hacks because AI finds vulnerabilities faster than humans can fix them. He noted users might move away from medium-sized exchanges due to the risk. This theft follows a pattern of industry vulnerability. In September, the Bitget exchange reported a $388 million loss. Last year, attackers stole $2.9 billion across nearly 150 different cryptocurrency attacks, according to TRM Labs.
Market volatility and industry reaction
The theft caused Bitcoin to drop more than 3% to $76,368 during early Asian trading on Friday. Coinbase shares fell 4.8%, while shares of MicroStrategy dropped nearly 6% in extended US trading. Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, posted on X that user funds are safe but added the incident looks like a hack on Binance.
Tim Sun, a researcher at HashKey Group, said the incident could prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets on centralized exchanges. This breach follows a pattern of volatility in the sector. Polymarket also halted trading after a security incident involving a third-party provider on Thursday.
Binance has 335 million registered users and held $162.8 billion in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report. The company also held more than $160 billion in assets in 2024. Binance.US, which provides services for US residents, said it was not affected by the incident. Coinbase also confirmed it was unaffected and is monitoring the situation.
