Binance says $6.3bn stolen in biggest crypto heist in history: What we know

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed hackers stole approximately $6.3bn in what appears to be the biggest crypto heist on record. The company suspended deposits and withdrawals on Thursday and assured users that their funds were safe, with the company covering all losses.

Two United States blockchain analysis firms, TRM Labs and Chainalysis, have claimed the attack originated in North Korea. The theft dwarfs the previous record of $1.5bn, which was stolen from the exchange Bybit in February 2025.

Binance reported that about $3bn of the stolen amount has since been frozen, including more than $2.3bn by stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle. The company warned on X that the $6.3bn figure 'may continue to increase' as they work to trace and freeze more assets.

North Korean Hackers

According to blockchain analysis firms, the attack was carried out by TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit linked to the Lazarus Group. TRM stated it had assessed with 'high confidence' that this unit was responsible for ordering Binance's wallets to empty into wallets they controlled.

The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Lazarus Group in 2019, saying it was controlled by North Korea's primary intelligence bureau. North Korea routinely denies involvement in hacking, though the FBI previously blamed the same unit for the Bybit hack in 2025.

Binance has been more cautious in its attribution. 'Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual,' co-CEO Richard Teng said on X. The company initially suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers, though later investigation revealed 'additional points of breach'.

Market Impact

The hack has already impacted crypto markets, with Bitcoin hitting a six-week low of $76,368 and Ether falling more than 3 percent to a two-month low of $2,178. Shares in crypto exchange Coinbase, which stated it was unaffected, fell 4.8 percent.

The stolen sum is more than six times Binance's $1bn emergency fund, the Secure Asset Fund for Users, set up in 2018 to protect users in case of a breach. Teng confirmed that company funds would cover the losses.

The hack comes as crypto markets were already under pressure from higher US interest rates and weaker demand from exchange-traded fund buyers, analysts told Reuters. Binance said it was coordinating with law enforcement and remained on track to resume withdrawals within 45 hours.

Security Concerns

The incident highlights vulnerabilities in large, centralized exchanges. 'Any assets held at a centralized exchange are only as safe as the exchange itself, and the larger the exchange's holdings, the larger a target it becomes,' Sean Foley, an expert in crypto markets at Macquarie University in Sydney, told Al Jazeera.

Insurance offers limited protection as most crime- and cyber-insurance policies do not cover stolen cryptocurrency. Crypto-specific insurance remains a niche business offered largely by specialist insurers.

Thefts are frequent in the crypto space, with hackers stealing $2.87bn in crypto in nearly 150 attacks in 2025, according to TRM's 2026 Crypto Crime Report. Binance itself has faced legal trouble, with founder Changpeng Zhao pleading guilty in 2023 to a felony linked to failing to prevent money laundering, though he was pardoned by US President Donald Trump in 2025.