Hackers Steal $6.3 Billion from Binance in Record-Breaking Cryptocurrency Heist

Hackers have reportedly stolen approximately $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what could become the biggest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded.

The breach has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market, with Binance confirming that it is working with law enforcement agencies and industry partners to investigate the incident and recover the stolen assets.

“This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it,” Binance said in a statement.

The exchange disclosed on Friday that customer deposits were unaffected. It also confirmed that withdrawals had been suspended for 24 hours while efforts continued to secure affected assets.

Binance said it had located approximately $3 billion of the stolen funds and was working with partners to freeze them. However, it did not provide further details about the remaining $3.3 billion.

The company also assured customers that it would cover all losses resulting from the incident.

North Korean Hacking Group Suspected

US-based blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, which it described as an elite hacking unit linked to North Korea.

The firm said it had a high level of confidence in its assessment, pointing to similarities between the Binance incident and previous cyberattacks associated with North Korean hackers.

According to TRM Labs, the attackers moved approximately $6.36 billion from Binance wallets across 10 different blockchains, with most of the transfers completed within about 20 minutes.

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Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis also linked the incident to TraderTraitor.

Its co-founder and chief executive officer, Jonathan Levin, wrote on X that the Binance hack was likely carried out by the North Korean-linked group.

Biggest Cryptocurrency Theft on Record

If the reported figures are confirmed, the incident would surpass the $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft involving exchange Bybit last year, which was also attributed to North Korean hackers.

The scale of the breach has drawn strong reactions from industry insiders.

An industry source speaking to Sky News described the incident as “the largest bank heist in human history”.

Similarly, Aravind Srinivasan of market maker GSR called it the biggest hack in history.

The incident adds to growing concerns about the security of cryptocurrency platforms and the ability of hackers to move large amounts of digital assets across multiple blockchain networks.

Binance has yet to provide a full account of the attack or explain how the hackers gained access to the affected wallets.