Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, said on Thursday it was investigating reports of a potential security issue with an estimated total impact of about $6.3 billion, in what analysts said could rank among the most significant incidents of its kind on record. Separately on Thursday, Polymarket, the largest prediction market by trading volume, paused trading after users flagged unauthorized withdrawals, according to Business Insider.

The Binance hack matters because of its sheer scale and the questions it raises about the safety of assets held on centralized platforms. Reuters reported that hackers stole $6.3 billion from the exchange in what analysts described as the largest crypto theft on record, one that could lead investors to reconsider the risks of holding digital assets.

Compromised laptop at center of Binance hack probe

In an update late Thursday, Binance said its initial investigation suggested the incident may involve a compromised development operations engineer's laptop, Business Insider reported. The company said in a tweet that the compromised laptop "allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions," and added that it had found no evidence of any wallet private key leak.

Binance said that, working alongside its blockchain partners, it has frozen roughly $3 billion in assets to date. The exchange cautioned that the frozen figure could climb further as its teams coordinate with police, token issuers, blockchain analytics specialists and other industry players in an effort to track down and lock up more of the stolen funds, according to the East Bay Times and PCMag Middle East.

As a precaution, the exchange said all deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended while its team conducts security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement. Binance said on X that "Binance will cover all losses," and PCMag Middle East reported the company reiterated it would cover all losses using company funds, including its emergency SAFU fund.

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao said on X that the incident "does look like a hack on Binance." He wrote that user funds are safe, and added that while he no longer manages Binance, "as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."

Reuters reported that Binance said its deposits were unaffected and that it expects to resume withdrawal services in the next 48 hours. Binance also said it would release further technical details after the investigation concludes and the facts have been fully verified, according to the East Bay Times.

Stablecoin issuers freeze billions

Tether and Circle, issuers of cryptocurrencies traded on Binance, moved quickly to freeze funds tied to the incident. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said on X that Circle had frozen more than $800 million in currency linked to the incident, acting in coordination with law enforcement, while Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on X that Tether froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion related to what he called a potential Binance exchange hack.

World Liberty Financial, a crypto company tied to US President Donald Trump and his family, said Thursday it had coordinated with cryptocurrency custodian BitGo to freeze funds stolen in what it described as a Binance hack, Reuters reported. According to Binance co-founder Yi He, the frozen sums included $27 million in stablecoins along with World Liberty tokens valued at roughly $2 million.

Ripple's senior vice president of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, said the firm was keeping a close watch on reports of a possible exploit at Binance and was locking up affected funds while coordinating with the parties involved, Reuters reported. Miguel Morel, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, said data indicated that billions of dollars appeared to have been hacked from Binance by an unknown actor.

Markets slide after Binance hack

BNB, the token first issued as Binance Coin and usable for paying fees on the exchange, fell 5% over the past 24 hours to $709.70, according to market aggregator CoinGecko, Reuters reported. The price of bitcoin dropped 3.2% Thursday evening to under $79,000, according to the East Bay Times.

Aravind Srinivasan, head of large crypto market maker GSR's systematic OTC business, told Reuters: "It's the biggest hack in history." According to the exchange's 2025 annual report, Binance serves 335 million registered users worldwide and held roughly $162.8 billion in assets under custody, Reuters reported.

Tim Sun, senior researcher at Hong Kong-based HashKey Group, told Reuters the breach "may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralized exchanges, as well as counterparty, solvency and liquidity risks." Bernardo Brites, CEO of payments and stablecoin infrastructure company Trace Finance, told Reuters: "It's becoming very hard to counter hacks as AI can find vulnerabilities faster than you can fix them."

According to its website, Binance maintains a secure asset fund for users, a bitcoin-denominated reserve designed to shield customer assets in the event of a security breach, Reuters reported. Binance.US, a separate cryptocurrency exchange, said it was not affected by the security incident.

Polymarket halts trading in separate incident

Also on Thursday, Polymarket temporarily halted trading after users reported unauthorized withdrawals, Business Insider reported. In a statement posted to X, the company said a third-party provider had been compromised and that it had referred the matter to law enforcement, adding that trading had resumed by 3 p.m. Eastern time.

A Polymarket spokesperson told Business Insider that the malicious activity occurred in the UK and that the company will reimburse affected users, though it could not yet say how much may have been taken. The company's US exchange continued operating and showed no signs of being affected.

A person familiar with the matter attributed the Polymarket hack to a compromised third-party provider called DebugBear, a web performance monitoring platform designed to help businesses optimize website speed, Business Insider reported. It is unclear exactly how Polymarket uses the platform. Reuters described the Polymarket incident as unrelated to the Binance hack.

Zhao's history and industry context

Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, who in 2023 pleaded guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO, according to the East Bay Times. Zhao and Binance have been key supporters of some of the Trump family's crypto enterprises, the outlet reported.

The hackers behind the raid were from North Korea, according to US blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, Reuters reported. The attackers targeted Binance wallets on 10 blockchains and shifted most of the funds in about 20 minutes, TRM Labs said in a statement. North Korea's mission in Geneva and its embassy in China did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Conclusion

Binance said its investigation into the $6.3 billion incident is ongoing, with about $3 billion in assets frozen so far alongside blockchain partners, and the exchange has pledged to cover all losses. The company said it expects to resume withdrawal services within 48 hours and plans to release more technical details once the facts are fully verified. Polymarket, which resumed trading Thursday afternoon, said it will reimburse affected users but has not confirmed how much was stolen.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much was stolen in the Binance hack?

Binance said the estimated total impact of the security incident is about $6.3 billion. The exchange said it has worked with blockchain partners to freeze around $3 billion in assets so far, and said the frozen figure may increase as teams trace additional assets with law enforcement and industry partners.

Will Binance cover user losses from the $6.3 billion hack?

Binance said on X that it will cover all losses, and PCMag Middle East reported the company will use company funds including its emergency SAFU fund. Founder Changpeng Zhao wrote that as a shareholder he expects all user funds will be fully covered, and the exchange said user funds remain safe.

What caused the Binance security incident?

Binance said its initial investigation suggests the incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The company said it found no evidence of any wallet private key leak.

What happened to Polymarket on the same day as the Binance hack?

Polymarket temporarily halted trading Thursday after users reported unauthorized withdrawals. The company said a third-party provider was compromised, referred the incident to law enforcement and resumed trading by 3 p.m. Eastern time. A spokesperson said the malicious activity occurred in the UK and affected users will be reimbursed.

When will Binance withdrawals resume after the hack?

Binance said it expects to resume withdrawal services within the next 48 hours, according to Reuters. The exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals as a precaution while its team conducts security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement, and said deposits were unaffected.