Cryptocurrency exchange Binance was reportedly hit with a cyber attack that resulted in an estimated $6.3 billion loss, The New York Times reported. The company promised to cover all losses, but has suspended withdrawals. The value of the theft would be a record if it is true, easily eclipsing a 1.5 billion dollar hack of the Bybit exchange last year.
“The estimated total impact is about $6.3 billion, and [Binance] has worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3 billion frozen on-chain so far,” the company wrote in an article on its website. “Binance … will cover all losses with funds from its SAFU. [Secure Asset Fund for Users] Fund and company, and user funds are safe.”
Binance clarified in another article that there are frozen withdrawals “for [a] security reform”, but that deposits were “normal”.
User funds are safe!
It looks like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze of Tether (~$971m) and Circle (~$823m).
I no longer manage Binance (.com), but as a shareholder I expect all user funds to be fully covered.
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 29, 2026
The hack may have started with a compromised DevOps laptop. “The exchange’s initial investigation suggests that a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions,” Binance wrote.
Several reports point to North Korea as the culprit. Security research firm TRM Labs attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, North Korea’s elite hacking unit, “based on robust on- and off-chain intelligence.” It added that it makes the ruling with “high confidence” and tracks the funds and alerts partners through its Beacon Network, which tracks real-time crypto crimes.
The scope of the hack shocked the crypto community. “It may further push risk appetite and prompt investors to assess the safety of assets on centralized exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks,” HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun said. Reuters.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to a crime related to his failure to prevent money laundering, but was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2025. The company has a business relationship with the Trump family’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial.