Hackers have stolen $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, in what analysts believe could be the biggest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded.
US blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the attack to North Korean hackers. According to TRM Labs, the attackers targeted Binance wallets across 10 blockchains and transferred most of the stolen funds within approximately 20 minutes.
Binance said it was working with partners to freeze the targeted assets and had identified approximately $3 billion so far. The company has not disclosed the whereabouts of the remaining $3.3 billion.
Binance co-founder Yi He said the company would cover “all losses from hacking”.
Read more: Binance Investigates Potential Crypto Security Breach as Suspected Outflows Reach $5.6 Billion
The cryptocurrency exchange said the incident had not affected customer deposits and that it expected to resume withdrawal services within the next 48 hours.
North Korean hackers suspected
TRM Labs said several characteristics of the attack resembled previous cryptocurrency thefts linked to North Korea.
These included the 2025 attack on cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed to Pyongyang.
“We make this assessment with a high degree of confidence,” TRM Labs said in a statement.
North Korea’s mission in Geneva and its embassy in China did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and other industry experts said the incident could represent the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.
Hacked engineer’s laptop may have enabled attack
Binance said an initial investigation suggested that the breach may have originated from a compromised laptop belonging to one of its engineers.
The compromised device allegedly allowed an attacker to access one of the company’s systems and carry out unauthorised withdrawals.
The company has not disclosed further details about the security breach or the full extent of the losses.
Bitcoin and Ether fall after news of theft
Cryptocurrency markets reacted immediately during Asian trading on Friday.
Bitcoin fell more than 3%, reaching a six-week low of $76,368, while Ether dropped more than 3% to a two-week low of $2,178.
The reported theft has raised fresh concerns about security across cryptocurrency exchanges and the ability of blockchain platforms to protect digital assets against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
(Source: AMNA)