Binance is investigating a potential security breach involving as much as $5.8 billion in digital assets. If confirmed, the incident would surpass the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit by North Korean hackers in February 2025 and become the largest confirmed cryptocurrency heist in history. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle have already frozen more than $2.3 billion in assets linked to the suspected attack, while Binance says customer funds remain safe.
In a statement to BleepingComputer, a Binance spokesperson confirmed that the exchange is investigating reports of potential security issues.
“Our team is aware of reports of potential security issues and is actively investigating them. Rest assured that your funds are completely safe,” the spokesperson said.
“Our security team is urgently reviewing all relevant information and will provide updates through Binance’s official channels once the information is confirmed.”
Binance also warned customers to watch for scams and avoid unofficial links, messages and requests for account information.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said on X that the incident appears to be a hack. He noted that he no longer controls the exchange and expects all user funds to be fully covered.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on X that Tether had frozen more than $1.567 billion in USDT associated with the possible Binance hack.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also confirmed that Circle had frozen more than $800 million in USDC linked to the incident. The company said it is working with law enforcement and will continue assisting with the investigation.
Billions transferred from Binance hot wallets
The investigation follows reports that billions of dollars in cryptocurrency were transferred from multiple Binance hot wallets to newly created Ethereum addresses.
According to blockchain transaction analysis shared on X by crypto journalist StarPlatinum, approximately $2.53 billion was transferred from a Binance hot wallet known as “Binance 14” to 64 cryptocurrency tokens. Another $174.4 million was transferred from a second Binance wallet 24 seconds later.
A subsequent update claimed that a third Binance hot wallet transferred an additional $780 million in USDC to the same receiving wallet. Based on the transactions associated with this Ethereum address, the reported total was approximately $3.48 billion.
Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain intelligence platform, tracks 55 cryptocurrency addresses under an entity labeled “binance-hacker-1029.” The addresses collectively hold assets worth approximately $5.78 billion.
The tracked assets include approximately $1.77 billion in USDT, $1.44 billion in Bitcoin, $876 million in Ethereum and $823 million in USDC.
Blockchain explorer Etherscan also labeled the first receiving address “Binance Hot Wallet Exploiter 2” and assigned it both “Exploit” and “Heist” tags.
Source: BleepingComputer
However, Arkham’s $5.78 billion figure is not a confirmed amount stolen from Binance. It represents the value of assets held across all tracked wallets.
Binance has not confirmed whether the transfers were fraudulent, how the alleged breach occurred or the total value of assets stolen.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com