By Karim Hammam
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been hit by a $6.3bn hack believed to be the largest crypto theft ever recorded. Co-chief executive officer Richard Teng said the company is working with authorities and will cover all losses.
What is Binance?
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, where users buy, sell, and trade digital currencies like Bitcoin. Founded in China in 2017, it has hundreds of millions of registered users worldwide. The exchange has faced scrutiny in recent years, notably in 2023 when then-CEO Changpeng Zhao resigned after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. In 2024, Binance reported more than $160bn in assets.
How the Hack Happened
The breach targeted Binance's global centralized exchange, Binance.com; its U.S. affiliate Binance.us said it was unaffected. Teng stated initial investigations suggest a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop gave an attacker access to a service container, enabling unauthorized withdrawal transactions. He described the hack as a complex attack process, not a simple one-click action. Cybersecurity experts said the engineer may have been tricked into running a test that installed malware, and because the laptop held high-level privileges, it became a direct route into production systems and wallets.
Who Is Behind the Attack
The perpetrators are not yet confirmed, but analytics firms have pointed to North Korea. TRM Labs reported that several elements of the Binance attack resemble earlier incidents linked to the Lazarus Group, also known as TraderTraitor, including a $1.5bn hack on the ByBit exchange in 2025. North Korea has denied involvement; Binance has not directly responded to queries about potential links.
Impact on Users
Teng assured users their funds are safe. As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended. Binance said it would cover losses from its emergency reserve and company funds, and has been working with partners to freeze affected assets, with around $3bn reportedly located so far. The exchange expects to resume withdrawal services within 45 hours. Security experts warned users of other platforms to beware of phishing emails, fake support accounts, and messages urging them to move cryptocurrency to a "safe" wallet, advising them to check updates only through the official Binance app or trusted website and never share passwords or recovery phrases.
Broader Implications for Crypto
Legal expert Jennifer Craven said the hack's repercussions could extend well beyond Binance, exposing the fragility of parts of the crypto ecosystem. She noted regulators will likely increase scrutiny of how smaller, less mature platforms protect infrastructure and customers. The Bank of England has warned that AI agents could potentially identify and exploit software vulnerabilities faster than human hackers, leaving institutions struggling to patch flaws in time.
Cryptocurrency Usage Statistics
Cryptocurrency has grown as a popular way to invest and transfer money online, partly because it operates without central bank or government control. However, it remains highly volatile. According to Solcard, between 560 million and 741 million people worldwide owned crypto in 2026.
