Binance has reportedly been hacked, billions in crypto stolen - Mashable

Binance announced a "potential security issue" on Thursday, freezing withdrawals after an apparent hacker drained hot wallets of more than $5.7 billion in cryptocurrency. The official Binance X account first acknowledged the issue at 5:15 p.m. ET, coming within minutes of reports that Tether and Circle Group had frozen significant amounts of their stablecoins in response to the hack.

Frozen Assets

Binance has stated that a total of $2.54 billion has been frozen, though this number may grow as assets are traced. The ostensible hacker's wallet currently holds $1.77 billion in Tether, $1.44 billion in Bitcoin, and $1.01 billion in Ethereum, plus over a billion more spread across other currencies.

Security Concerns

The assets were reportedly drained from hot wallets, which are connected to the internet and practical for transactions but less secure than offline cold wallets. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed "it does look like a hack" but assured users he expects "all user funds will be fully covered." The company later stated that withdrawals will resume once the security issue is fully resolved and that user funds remain safe.