Binance reports $6.3 billion security breach, freezes $3 billion in crypto

Dubai: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has reported a security breach affecting an estimated $6.3 billion (Dh23.1 billion) in digital assets, with about $3 billion frozen as investigators try to recover the funds.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals following the incident, which analysts say could become the biggest crypto theft on record.

Binance said its preliminary investigation suggests an attacker may have compromised an engineer’s laptop, accessed an internal system, and submitted unauthorised withdrawal transactions.

The company found no evidence that wallet private keys had been leaked.

Binance said it would cover all losses through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and company funds. It maintained that customer assets remained safe.

$3 billion in assets frozen

Binance worked with blockchain companies, including Tether and Circle, to freeze cryptocurrency linked to the breach.

Tether froze nearly $1.57 billion, while Circle blocked more than $800 million. Ripple and other companies also helped restrict transfers of affected assets.

The exchange said it had frozen about $3 billion so far but did not provide an update on the remaining $3.3 billion.

The total impact remains an estimate, and Binance has not established its final losses.

Bitcoin, ether fall

The incident sent cryptocurrency prices lower in early Asian trading on Friday.

Bitcoin fell to a six-week low of $77,646, while ether dropped to a two-month low of $2,238.76, according to Reuters.

BNB, a token associated with Binance, fell more than 8 per cent over 24 hours.

Binance has revoked the affected address authorisation and brought in law enforcement agencies and blockchain investigators to trace the transactions.

It said deposits and withdrawals would resume after security checks were completed, without specifying a timeframe.

The company plans to release a detailed technical report once it completes its investigation.