Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has confirmed a major security breach estimated at $6.3bn, assuring users that their funds remain safe.
The exchange’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, disclosed the incident in a post on X on Thursday, saying the platform appeared to have been hacked despite reports of billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency moving from Binance wallets.
“User funds are safe! It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from Tether ($971m) and Circle ($823m),” Zhao wrote.
Although Zhao no longer manages Binance, he said he expects the exchange to cover all losses incurred by users.
“I don’t manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered,” he said.
The reported intervention involved USDT and USDC, the stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle, respectively.
Stablecoins are digital currencies designed to maintain a relatively stable value, usually by being pegged to conventional currencies such as the US dollar. Their issuers can freeze tokens held at specific blockchain addresses, preventing the assets from being transferred.
In a subsequent statement, Binance said its preliminary investigation suggested that the security breach might have originated from a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop.
According to the company, the attacker allegedly used the compromised device to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions.
Binance said it had temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating the incident, adding that the estimated financial impact stood at approximately $6.3bn.
The exchange also said there was no evidence that any wallet private keys had been compromised.
“We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak. We will share a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation is complete and the facts are fully verified,” the company stated.
Binance disclosed that it had worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3bn reportedly frozen on-chain as part of its response.
The company also pledged to cover all losses through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and corporate funds, reiterating that customers’ funds were safe.
It further promised to publish an updated Proof of Reserves report after completing the remediation process.
Meanwhile, Binance advised users to remain vigilant against scams, warning them not to click on unofficial links, respond to suspicious messages or share account information through unauthorised channels.