$6.3 Billion: Binance Reports Massive Security Breach Involving DevOps Compromise

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, announced on Thursday that a security incident has impacted an estimated $6.3 billion in assets. The company temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals to conduct security checks and cooperate with law enforcement. Users of the platform are currently unable to move funds while the firm works to trace and freeze the affected assets.

The exchange stated that its initial investigation points to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop as the entry point for the breach. An attacker used this access to enter a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Binance noted that it found no evidence of a wallet private key leak, and a spokesperson assured customers that user funds remain completely safe. The company is reviewing all relevant information with urgency and plans to release verified technical details once the investigation concludes.

The incident began on Thursday when Binance flagged a potential security issue. By late in the day, the company estimated the total impact at more than $6 billion. Binance worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets on-chain, reporting that approximately $3 billion had been secured by that time. The company said its teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue and will provide updates through official channels as facts become fully verified.

Stablecoin providers reacted quickly to the news. Tether and Circle each froze funds on Thursday in response to the incident. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, stated on X that the company froze the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency associated with the incident in coordination with law enforcement. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, announced that his company froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in currency related to the potential Binance exchange hack.

The event caused immediate market volatility. The price of bitcoin dropped 3.2% on Thursday evening, falling below the $79,000 mark. Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, posted on X that user funds are safe. He acknowledged that the incident looks like a hack on Binance and stated that, as a shareholder, he expects all user funds to be fully covered.

Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony in 2023 for failing to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO. He was sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, becoming the first person to receive prison time for such violations. Prosecutors indicated that no one had previously violated the regulations to the extent Zhao did. He was released from prison last year and received a presidential pardon in 2025. Zhao and Binance have been key supporters of several crypto enterprises connected to the Trump family.