Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched an investigation into a suspected cyberattack potentially affecting approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency assets, temporarily suspending deposits and withdrawals as security teams work with law enforcement agencies and blockchain companies to contain the incident.
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The development was disclosed on Thursday, October 29, 2026, after the exchange identified what it described as a potential security issue involving unauthorised withdrawal transactions.
Although Binance has not conclusively established the full extent of the incident or confirmed that the entire $6.3 billion was stolen, the company said preliminary findings suggested that an attacker may have compromised an employee’s computer and exploited access to its technical infrastructure.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who stepped down as chief executive in 2023, acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, saying the circumstances appeared consistent with a cyberattack.
“This does look like a hack on Binance,” Zhao wrote on X.
However, both Zhao and the company sought to reassure customers that their funds remained protected.
“Rest assured that user funds are completely safe,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson explained that the exchange’s security teams were urgently examining the incident and would release additional information once the findings had been verified.
“Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information,” the statement added.
In a separate update published on its official X account, Binance estimated the potential financial impact of the incident at approximately $6.3 billion.
The exchange disclosed that it had already worked with blockchain partners to freeze about $3 billion in affected cryptocurrency assets, as efforts continued to identify and restrict additional funds potentially connected to the incident.
According to the company’s preliminary investigation, the security breach may have originated from the laptop of a DevOps engineer, an employee responsible for aspects of software development, deployment and technical operations.
Binance explained that the suspected compromise may have enabled an attacker to gain access to a service container within its infrastructure and initiate withdrawal transactions without authorisation.
“Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security 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 stated.
However, the exchange maintained that investigators had not discovered evidence suggesting that private keys protecting cryptocurrency wallets had been compromised.
“We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak,” Binance said.
Private keys are sensitive cryptographic credentials used to authorise cryptocurrency transactions and control access to digital assets.
Their compromise can allow attackers to transfer funds without the legitimate owner’s permission.
The company’s statement therefore suggests that investigators are examining whether the suspected attacker exploited access to operational systems rather than directly obtaining wallet private keys.
Binance said it would publish further technical information after completing its investigation and verifying the relevant facts.
As part of its immediate response, the exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks, tracing affected transactions and coordinating asset-freezing measures.
The company said it was working with law enforcement agencies, cryptocurrency issuers, blockchain intelligence companies and other industry partners to prevent further unauthorised movements of assets.
“Our teams work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets,” Binance stated.
The incident also prompted intervention by major stablecoin issuers, including Tether and Circle, which announced measures to freeze digital assets associated with the suspected breach.
Circle co-founder and chief executive Jeremy Allaire disclosed that his company had frozen cryptocurrency assets worth more than $800 million in connection with the incident.
According to Allaire, the action was taken in coordination with law enforcement authorities.
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino similarly announced that the company had frozen more than $1.5 billion in digital assets linked to what he described as a potential Binance exchange hack.
The actions by both stablecoin issuers formed part of the wider effort to prevent the movement of assets believed to be associated with the suspected attack.
However, the amounts frozen by individual companies should not automatically be added to Binance’s reported $3 billion total, as the available information does not establish whether the figures overlap.
The suspected breach also coincided with a decline in cryptocurrency prices.
Bitcoin fell by approximately 3.2 per cent on Thursday evening, trading below $79,000 as investors reacted to developments in the digital asset market.
The incident has raised questions about cybersecurity safeguards within cryptocurrency exchanges, particularly the potential risks associated with compromised employee devices and access to sensitive operational systems.
If investigators eventually confirm that assets worth approximately $6.3 billion were stolen or otherwise irrecoverably lost, the incident could rank among the largest cryptocurrency security breaches on record.
However, Binance’s current estimate represents the potential impact of the incident and should not be interpreted as a confirmed loss of the entire amount.
Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, also commented on the company’s response despite no longer serving as its chief executive.
“User funds are safe!” he wrote.
The Binance founder said he expected the exchange to protect customers from financial losses arising from the incident.
Although he no longer manages the company, Zhao maintained that his position as a shareholder gave him an interest in ensuring that affected customers were protected.
“As a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered,” he stated.
Zhao’s comments come against the background of his previous legal troubles in the United States.
In 2023, he pleaded guilty to a criminal charge arising from failures to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme at Binance and subsequently stepped down as the exchange’s chief executive.
He was later sentenced to imprisonment for violating the United States Bank Secrecy Act, which imposes obligations on financial institutions to identify customers, monitor transactions and report suspicious financial activities.
Federal prosecutors had accused Zhao and Binance of serious failures in complying with those requirements.
The Bank Secrecy Act forms part of the United States’ legal framework for preventing money laundering and other illicit financial activities.
Zhao subsequently completed his prison sentence and was pardoned by United States President Donald Trump in 2025.
Binance and Zhao have also attracted attention over their connections with cryptocurrency businesses associated with members of the Trump family.
However, the current suspected security breach is a separate development, and the information released by Binance does not establish any connection between the incident and Zhao’s previous criminal proceedings or those business relationships.
The exchange maintained that its security teams were working continuously to establish the circumstances surrounding the suspected attack and determine the full extent of any unauthorised transactions.
It also assured customers that further updates would be communicated through its official channels once investigators had verified the relevant information.
For now, the precise amount of cryptocurrency successfully transferred by any attacker, the proportion of affected assets that may ultimately be recovered and the timetable for restoring normal deposits and withdrawals remain unclear.
The company has not announced a definitive conclusion to its investigation.
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