Binance hit by potentially biggest crypto hack in history: $6.3 billion affected, who is behind it?

The cryptocurrency industry has been hit by another major security scare, and this time the numbers are staggering. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is investigating a cyberattack involving an estimated $6.3 billion in digital assets. The incident came to light on October 29, with billions of dollars moving out of wallets linked to the exchange. If the full amount is confirmed as stolen, this could become the largest cryptocurrency hack ever recorded.

Binance has confirmed the security incident and says around $3 billion in affected assets have already been frozen. The company has promised to cover losses, but investigators are still trying to establish exactly what happened and how much money attackers managed to take away. Reuters and TechCrunch reported on the incident as cryptocurrency markets reacted to the news.

Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. 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 estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B. We have worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with ~$3 billion frozen on-chain so far.
Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and the company’s funds. User funds are safe. We will also publish an updated Proof of Reserves once the remediation is complete.

As an immediate precaution, Binance has:

– temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while security checks are completed;
– revoked the affected address authorisation;
– engaged law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds.

Our teams are working around the clock to resolve this issue safely and thoroughly. We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals and bring them to justice.

Please rely only on official Binance channels for updates. Please feel free to contact Binance Customer Support if you have any further questions.

https://t.co/ywB2mKFy0p

— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026

What happened in the Binance crypto hack?

According to Binance’s preliminary investigation, hackers may have compromised a laptop belonging to one of its DevOps engineers, an employee responsible for maintaining technical systems.

The attacker allegedly used that access to enter a service container and initiate unauthorised cryptocurrency withdrawals.

Interestingly, Binance says investigators have found no evidence that hackers obtained the private keys used to control its cryptocurrency wallets.

This raises questions about how an attacker managed to authorise such large transactions without stealing those keys.

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How much cryptocurrency was allegedly stolen?

Binance estimates that the incident affected approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency. Around $3 billion has been frozen, leaving roughly $3.3 billion whose recovery status remains unclear.

These figures are huge and unprecedented, but they represent the estimated impact of the attack, rather than a confirmed final loss.

Service Update

Deposits remain unaffected and continue to operate as normal.

Withdrawals remain paused while our team completes a security revamp of the withdrawal service and its related addresses. We expect to resume within 48 hours, and will update with further details.

The incident stems from multiple factors. Our security team is tracing the full attack path through the compromised computer which may be the entry point of the incident. A comprehensive report with the root cause will follow.

We will continue to share updates through official Binance channels.

— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026

What is Binance saying about the hack?

In its October 30 statement, Binance said, “User funds are safe.”

The exchange confirmed that it had temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals during security checks. It has revoked the affected address authorisation and contacted law enforcement.

Binance co-founder Yi He told Reuters, “Binance will cover all hacking losses.”

The company plans to use its SAFU emergency reserve and corporate funds to compensate for losses.

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Who is behind the Binance hack?

The attackers’ identities remain unconfirmed.

According to The Washington Post, cybersecurity firms TRM Labs and Pangolin Intelligence have linked the incident to TraderTraitor, a North Korean-backed hacking group.

The group has previously been associated with major cryptocurrency thefts, including the 2025 Bybit attack. Binance has not publicly confirmed that attribution.

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What happens next?

Investigators will now focus on tracing the remaining cryptocurrency, identifying the attackers and checking whether the stolen assets can be recovered.

Binance has promised a detailed technical report and updated proof of reserves once its investigation and security repairs are complete.

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Biggest crypto exchange hacks in history: Bybit, WazirX, Mt. Gox and more

Cryptocurrency exchanges have faced several major cyberattacks over the years, with hackers stealing billions of dollars in digital assets. One of the biggest incidents took place in February 2025, when hackers stole approximately $1.5 billion from Bybit. Investigators linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The hackers reportedly manipulated a transaction approval process to gain control of cryptocurrency stored in a wallet.

India has faced similar incidents. In July 2024, cryptocurrency exchange WazirX lost around $235 million after attackers compromised one of its wallets. The breach affected thousands of Indian investors and raised questions about how exchanges protect customer funds.

Other major incidents include Japan’s Coincheck hack in 2018 and the collapse of Mt. Gox following years of cryptocurrency theft.

Binance itself suffered a security breach in May 2019, when hackers stole around 7,000 Bitcoin worth approximately $40 million at the time. The exchange covered the losses using its emergency funds.

If the latest alleged $6.3 billion Binance incident is independently confirmed, it would exceed the scale of these earlier attacks by a considerable margin.