$6.3 Billion Binance Crypto Heist Sends Bitcoin Prices Tumbling
The crypto world is on edge after hackers were able to steal $6.3 billion from Binance. The event is being called the world’s largest crypto heist, eroding faith in the security of these types of digital assets. The FBI has since confirmed that North Korea was behind the attack, and Binance says it has already replaced most of the stolen funds.
World’s Largest Crypto Heist Nets $6.3 Billion
Cryptocurrency prices plummeted on Friday after it was revealed that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange was hacked to the tune of $6.3 billion. Binance halted withdrawals after the hack but said that it would be able to cover the losses to its customers. Roughly half of the stolen assets were immediately frozen by stablecoin firms such as Circle, World Liberty Financial and Tether.
The heist began late Thursday, lasting for only about 20 minutes. According to U.S. blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, the event was similar to previous attacks that were pinned on North Korea.
TRM explained that the attackers ordered wallets used by Binance to empty into the hackers’ wallets. This strategy resembled a 2025 heist of crypto exchange Bybit. The FBI blamed the Bybit heist on North Korea. TRM posted on its website that it “attributes the attack to … North Korea’s elite hacking unit.” That unit, known as TraderTraitor, is linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
The U.S. and South Korea have accused North Korea of using its government cyber units for espionage and financial theft. North Korea denies the accusations.
Binance has assured its customers that their funds are safe. The company said Saturday it has been able to replace 90% of the amount stolen, using company money to buy new tokens, and it has set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses. The exchange also said it was still on track to reopen withdrawals.
About $3 billion of the stolen assets has been frozen so far, according to Binance. TRM Labs estimates that the attackers still hold roughly $2.4 billion.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng posted on X, telling customers, “Your money is safe and we’re covering every loss.” In an early statement, before the FBI weighed in, Teng said that “Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual.” On Saturday, he added, “Our users will not bear the financial impact of this incident.”
Aravind Srinivasan at market maker GSR called the event the biggest hack in history. The magnitude of the hack was reflected in the markets, with crypto prices sinking on the news. Bitcoin hit a six-week low of $76,368, while Ether dropped over 3% to settle at a two-month low of $2,178.
Likewise, shares in crypto exchange Coinbase Global slipped 4.8%, despite the company saying that it was not affected by the heist. Meanwhile, Bitcoin buyer Strategy dropped by almost 6% in extended U.S. trading.
What the Investigation Has Revealed
On Saturday, the FBI said the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack.
Teng described the breach as a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop used by a Binance engineer, along with malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it harder to trace and investigate. The breach may have started when the attacker was able to gain access to a secure system and launch unauthorized withdrawals.
Mark Karpeles, former chief of defunct Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, explained that attackers likely accessed private keys to get into two Binance wallets. Mt. Gox collapsed years ago after $500 million of its bitcoin was stolen. Karpeles said that Binance appears to have split its assets across multiple systems, “ensuring a hack can only affect a part of the assets, but even so a single hack is a large loss.”
The implications of the heist go far beyond the potential loss in assets. Experts say that the security breach will exacerbate the problems already dogging the crypto industry. Higher U.S. interest rates and lessening demand from fund managers have put cryptocurrencies under pressure in recent months. The recent heist may drive investors further away as the safety of these assets is called into question.
About Binance and the Crypto Industry
Binance has 335 million registered users around the world, allowing them to buy, sell and trade digital assets. According to the company’s 2025 annual report, Binance boasted approximately $162.8 billion in assets.
The company’s crypto exchange includes a secure asset fund for users, amounting to a $1 billion reserve held in bitcoin. This reserve is designed to protect customer assets in cases of breaches such as this. Teng has said the company will lean on this fund and company funds to cover the losses.
Stablecoin issuer Tether announced it froze nearly $1.57 billion in assets in connection with the heist of Binance. Similarly, Circle froze more than $800 million in assets as a precautionary measure.
Elsewhere, World Liberty Financial confirmed that it worked with custodian BitGo to freeze some vulnerable funds. Crypto firm Ripple took action and froze approximately $200 million in funds.
The Thursday heist is a continuation of the trend of crypto theft concerns. Researchers at TRM Labs noted that attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of crypto in almost 150 attacks [add time frame]. More recently, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget said that about $350 million in crypto had been stolen from its platform, serving as another example of the industry’s vulnerability to these types of attacks.
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