Hackers have stolen approximately $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what analysts have described as the biggest crypto heist in history.
The attack, which occurred on Thursday, October 29, saw hackers drain funds from Binance wallets across 10 different blockchains, with most of the stolen assets transferred within approximately 20 minutes.
According to blockchain intelligence firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, the attackers are believed with high confidence to be linked to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, which has been associated with several major cryptocurrency thefts.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao acknowledged the security breach in a post on X, saying it appeared to be a hack but assuring users that their funds were safe.
Following the incident, Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals while its security team investigated the breach and worked with law enforcement agencies to track the stolen assets.
The exchange said its initial investigation suggested that a compromised laptop belonging to one of its engineers may have provided hackers with access to its systems. However, further investigations uncovered additional points of breach, indicating that the attack was more complex than initially believed.
Binance has reportedly located approximately $3 billion of the stolen cryptocurrency, with stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle freezing substantial amounts of assets linked to the incident.
The exchange also pledged to cover all losses, with co-CEO Richard Teng assuring customers that affected users would not bear the financial consequences of the attack.
The hackers are yet to be publicly identified, while investigations involving international law enforcement agencies are ongoing.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry, with Bitcoin and other major digital currencies recording declines following news of the breach.
The $6.3 billion theft surpasses the previous record set in February 2025, when North Korean-linked hackers stole approximately $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.
Binance, which has more than 335 million registered users worldwide, held approximately $162.8 billion in assets under custody, according to its 2025 annual report.
