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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is investigating a suspected cyberattack that may have exposed as much as $5.7 bn in digital assets, potentially making it the largest crypto hack in history. The incident prompted emergency asset freezes, trading restrictions and declines across major cryptocurrency markets on Thursday, October 29.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has not formally confirmed that its systems were compromised. Its security teams are examining suspicious transactions involving multiple digital assets, including bitcoin, ether, solana and stablecoins.
- Binance is investigating a potential cyberattack involving an estimated $1.7 bn to $5.7 bn in cryptocurrency, which could make it the largest crypto hack on record.
- Circle, Tether and Ripple have helped freeze $2.54 bn in digital assets, while Binance temporarily suspended deposits, withdrawals and Binance Alpha trading.
- Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 following reports of the suspected breach, while a separate attack on Polymarket added to a series of major cybersecurity incidents in October.
Blockchain analysts and cryptocurrency traders estimate that between $1.7 bn and $5.7 bn may have been taken during the suspected attack. Crypto intelligence provider Arkham Intelligence identified approximately $6 bn in assets associated with 55 wallet addresses potentially connected to the incident, although the total amount actually stolen remains unconfirmed.
Binance co-founder and former chief executive Changpeng Zhao said the incident appeared to involve a hack but maintained that customer funds were protected.
Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. Rest assured that user funds are completely safe.
Binance and crypto firms freeze $2.54 bn in digital assets
Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks. Trading on Binance Alpha was also halted as the company worked with other cryptocurrency businesses to restrict movements of assets potentially associated with the incident.
The exchange subsequently reported that the verified amount of frozen funds had reached $2.54 bn.
Stablecoin issuers Circle Internet Group and Tether were among the companies involved in restricting access to potentially compromised assets.
Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire said the company had frozen more than 800 mn USD Coin (USDC) tokens associated with the suspected breach.
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino separately confirmed that his company had frozen more than 1.5 bn USDT tokens that may have been connected to the incident.
Binance co-founder Yi He later reported that Ripple, the company associated with XRP and RLUSD, had helped prevent the movement of another $200 mn in funds linked to the possible attack.
The frozen assets could represent only part of the cryptocurrency affected. Binance said the total might increase as investigators worked with law enforcement agencies and industry partners to identify and recover additional funds.
The company also said it would cover customer losses resulting from the incident. “We are working around the clock and will share a full post-mortem once the investigation is complete. Please rely only on official Binance channels for updates,” Binance said.
Zhao, who is no longer an executive but remains a majority shareholder, separately maintained that customer assets were safe.
Suspected Binance hack could exceed previous crypto theft records
If the highest estimates are confirmed, the Binance incident would exceed the losses recorded in previous cryptocurrency exchange attacks.
Arkham Intelligence, which uses publicly available blockchain records to identify and track cryptocurrency wallets, linked nearly $6 bn in digital assets to 55 addresses potentially associated with the suspected exploit.
The assets include bitcoin, ether, solana and several stablecoins. Arkham also collects information from members of its research community to support wallet identification.
The blockchain findings do not establish that the entire amount was stolen. Investigators have yet to confirm the total losses, the nature of the security breach or the parties responsible.
“This is unprecedented,” said Kevin March, co-founder of cryptocurrency trading firm JPEG Trading, which monitored the incident to assess potential market effects.
The largest previously reported cryptocurrency exchange theft occurred in February 2025, when hackers stole approximately $1.5 bn from Bybit. The FBI attributed that attack to North Korea-linked cybercriminals.
More recently, cryptocurrency platform Bitget suffered losses exceeding $350 mn in a September 2026 cyber theft.
North Korean hacking groups have repeatedly targeted cryptocurrency exchanges and financial infrastructure. US authorities have also warned about schemes involving North Korean operatives obtaining employment at Western companies under false identities.
No evidence has yet been publicly confirmed linking the potential Binance attack to North Korea or any other specific threat actor.
Bitcoin falls below $76,000 as crypto markets react
Reports of the suspected Binance breach triggered selling across major cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin declined more than 3%, falling below $76,000 following statements from exchange executives. Ether lost nearly 4%, while solana dropped approximately 3%.
Shares of Circle Internet Group fell about 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
Large cryptocurrency thefts can create liquidity problems for exchanges when customers attempt to withdraw assets simultaneously. Such pressure can be particularly damaging for smaller platforms with limited financial reserves.
March said Binance’s scale and financial resources could help it absorb potential losses that might threaten the survival of smaller exchanges.
“If this happened to any other business in crypto other than Binance, it would’ve been catastrophic,” he said.
He suggested that Binance could cover losses through its insurance arrangements and balance sheet, although the broader effects on cryptocurrency markets and asset prices remained uncertain.
The exchange’s ability to compensate customers has not yet been independently established against a verified loss figure.
Polymarket suffers separate $2.7 mn cyberattack
The Binance investigation began just hours after prediction market platform Polymarket confirmed a separate security incident.
Polymarket temporarily suspended trading for approximately one hour after an attacker stole at least $2.7 mn in customer funds.
Cybersecurity researchers at Hudson Rock connected the incident to a compromise involving DebugBear, a third-party website monitoring service.
The researchers identified malicious wallet-draining code associated with a third-party script, indicating that the attack involved software used by the platform.
DebugBear separately confirmed on Thursday that it was responding to its own security incident.
The two incidents came during what cybersecurity observers have described as “Black October”, a period marked by several high-profile attacks, data breaches and serious software vulnerabilities identified using artificial intelligence.
The series of incidents has raised concerns about the security of digital platforms and the speed at which attackers can exploit weaknesses in widely used services.
Binance investigation continues as potential losses remain unconfirmed
Binance has not identified the suspected attackers or disclosed a verified total for assets removed from its systems.
The exchange’s immediate response has focused on restricting withdrawals, coordinating asset freezes and working with external partners to trace cryptocurrency transfers.
The involvement of Circle, Tether and Ripple has allowed substantial quantities of digital assets to be immobilized, although the proportion of potentially compromised funds successfully protected remains unclear.
Binance has promised to publish a detailed report after its investigation concludes.
For now, the central questions concern whether the suspicious transactions resulted from an actual compromise of Binance, how much cryptocurrency may have been stolen and whether the frozen assets can be recovered or returned to their rightful owners.
