Binance hit by record $6.3B crypto theft

The cryptocurrency industry faces renewed questions about its security after hackers stole billions of dollars from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

On Thursday, attackers reportedly siphoned off more than $6 billion within just 20 minutes. Binance has managed to freeze $3 billion in stolen assets alongside its partners, but the remaining $3.3 billion is still on the loose. The incident has become one of the biggest crypto security breaches on record.

About half of the stolen funds involved stablecoins, whose issuers quickly froze the assets. However, hackers also targeted Bitcoin and Ether, which operate without centralized authorities. Researchers believe recovering these funds could prove extremely difficult.

Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals following the attack. The company promised to cover customer losses using emergency reserves that held $1.23 billion in bitcoin, which fell modestly as the hack rattled cryptocurrency markets.

The incident came just hours after another security breach hit Polymarket. According to blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps, hackers stole $2.7 million from around 700 users. The platform also pledged to reimburse affected customers.

Security experts say compensation alone cannot solve the industry’s security problems. They warn that centralized exchanges remain attractive targets because hackers can potentially access large amounts of customer funds.

According to Binance, the breach may have originated from a compromised engineer’s laptop. The FBI is investigating, though blockchain analysts have drawn early links to the North Korean hacking group suspected of targeting Bybit last year.

Experts advise investors to move long-term crypto holdings into personal wallets rather than leaving them on exchanges. However, self-managed wallets also carry risks, as lost passwords or recovery keys can mean permanent loss of access to funds.