Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, revealed on Thursday that it has fallen victim to a significant cyber attack, leading to estimated damages of approximately $6.3 billion. Half of the affected funds have been frozen to avert a substantial theft, according to reports.
Initially, Binance reassured its clients via the social media platform X that all deposited funds were “completely safe.” However, shortly after, the company stated it would cover “all losses,” as reported by France Presse.
Subsequently, Binance detailed that the total amount impacted was around $6.3 billion, with approximately $3 billion already frozen on-chain to prevent further theft. Blockchain technology, which underpins most cryptocurrencies, is crucial for tracking and securing transactions.
Potentially Historic Theft
This incident could represent the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, analysts from Chainalysis and other industry experts have indicated. “This is the largest cyber attack in history,” stated Aravind Srinivasan, a market liquidity expert and director at a prominent crypto firm.
The previous record was held by a February 2025 attack on Bybit, where $1.5 billion was stolen, with the theft attributed to North Korean hackers.
Binance announced on the night from Thursday to Friday that “all deposits and withdrawals” would be “temporarily suspended.” The company noted that the total amount of affected assets might continue to increase as their teams work closely with authorities and partners to identify and freeze additional targeted assets.
Frozen Assets
Changpeng Zhao, former head of Binance and still a major shareholder, commented on X that it appears to be a cyber attack against Binance. He estimated that the losses could be slightly more than $1 billion.
Tether’s director, which issues the USDT cryptocurrency, reported that approximately $1.6 billion in assets have been frozen due to a “potential attack” on Binance, while Circle’s CEO announced the blocking of about $800 million.
USDT and USDC are categorized as stablecoins, meaning their value is pegged to traditional currencies, in this case, the dollar. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, indicated that this decision was made in consultation with authorities, but the U.S. Justice Department and FBI have not provided immediate comments on the matter.
Market Implications
This incident may undermine investor confidence across the entire crypto market. The cryptocurrency sector is already grappling with challenges due to high interest rates in the U.S. and weaker demand from investors purchasing assets through exchange-traded funds.
Tim Sun, a senior researcher at Hong Kong-based financial group HashKey, noted that the incident could further diminish investors’ risk appetite and prompt a reassessment of the safety of assets held on centralized trading platforms.
Binance allows users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets. According to its annual report for 2025, the platform had 335 million registered users globally and managed assets worth approximately $162.8 billion.
Binance reassured users that “user funds remain safe” in a statement. The company maintains a reserve fund intended to protect clients’ assets in case of security incidents, which is held entirely in Bitcoin.
