Binance says security incident affected $6.3 billion
Binance estimates a security incident affected $6.3 billion, says about $3 billion is frozen and it will cover losses while deposits and withdrawals are paused.
The Today Crypto Editors
Binance says a security incident may have enabled unauthorized withdrawals with an estimated total impact of $6.3 billion, prompting the exchange to pause deposits and withdrawals while it investigates. The company says it will cover losses and that user funds are safe.
The scale of the impact and the pause on account transfers put the exchange’s security response directly in users’ hands.
What does Binance say caused the incident?
In its security incident update, Binance said its initial investigation suggests an attacker may have used a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The company said it found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked.
Binance has not yet published its full technical account. It says it will share a post-mortem after the investigation is complete and the facts are verified, so the reported mechanism remains preliminary.
How much has been frozen, and what will Binance cover?
Binance estimates the incident’s total impact at around $6.3 billion and says about $3 billion in affected assets have been frozen on-chain so far. The exchange says it will cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and company funds.
The $6.3 billion figure is an estimate of the incident’s impact; Binance has not described it as a confirmed amount stolen. The Associated Press reported Binance’s estimate and response, and noted that stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle separately said they froze funds connected to the incident.
What changes for Binance users?
Deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while Binance completes security checks, according to the exchange. It has revoked the affected address authorisation and is working with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover assets.
For customers, that means transfers into and out of Binance are paused during remediation, even as the company says user funds are safe. Binance says it will publish an updated proof of reserves after remediation is complete; until then, users must rely on its official updates for details on the investigation and when transfers resume.
Sources
- security incident update — binance.com
- reported Binance’s estimate and response — apnews.com