Binance Hit by Record $6.3 Billion Hack as Analysts Point to North Korea

Hackers have stolen $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in the biggest digital asset theft on record. Blockchain analysts have attributed the attack to North Korea, warning that the breach could undermine confidence in digital assets.

Cryptocurrency prices fell following the news, while Binance suspended withdrawals and pledged to cover all losses. Around half of the stolen assets were swiftly frozen by stablecoin issuers including Tether, Circle and the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial.

According to U.S. blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, the bulk of the heist unfolded within roughly 20 minutes, beginning late on Thursday, and bore similarities to previous large-scale attacks linked to North Korea. TRM said the attackers were able to instruct wallets used by Binance to transfer funds into hacker-controlled wallets, mirroring the 2025 attack on crypto exchange Bybit, which the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed to Pyongyang.

“TRM attributes the attack to … North Korea’s elite hacking unit,” the firm said in an analysis published on its website. Both TRM and Chainalysis said they had high confidence in North Korea’s responsibility.

“Biggest Hack in History”

U.S. and South Korean authorities, along with cybersecurity experts, have long accused North Korea of using state-linked cyber units for espionage, financial theft and revenue generation. Pyongyang routinely denies such allegations, and its mission in Geneva and embassy in China did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Binance said user funds were safe and that it was working with partners to freeze affected assets, with approximately $3 billion located so far. The exchange said it expects to resume withdrawals within the next 48 hours, though it did not address the status of the remaining $3.3 billion.

“Your money is safe and we’re covering every loss,” co-CEO Richard Teng said on X. “Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual.”

“It’s the biggest hack in history,” said Aravind Srinivasan of market maker GSR, as cryptocurrency prices declined across the board.

Mark Karpelès, former head of the defunct Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, which collapsed a dozen years ago after $500 million in bitcoin was stolen, said the attackers had probably gained access to private keys for at least two Binance wallets. “Binance appears to have split its assets across multiple systems, ensuring a hack can only affect a part of the assets, but even so a single hack is a large loss,” he said.

Wider Implications for the Crypto Market

Analysts said the breach could have broader consequences for the cryptocurrency sector, which was already under pressure from higher U.S. interest rates and weaker demand from exchange-traded fund investors.

“It may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralised exchanges,” said Tim Sun, senior researcher at Hong Kong-based HashKey Group.

Losses Exceed Binance’s Protection Fund

Binance has 335 million registered users worldwide and held approximately $162.8 billion in assets under custody, according to its 2025 annual report. The exchange maintains a $1 billion secure asset fund, held entirely in bitcoin, intended to protect users in the event of security breaches. Teng said the losses would be covered by this fund together with company funds.

Tether said it had frozen nearly $1.57 billion in assets linked to the incident, while Circle froze more than $800 million. World Liberty Financial said it had worked with custodian BitGo to freeze funds, and Binance co-founder Yi He said $27 million in stablecoins and around $2 million worth of World Liberty tokens had been frozen. Yi added that crypto firm Ripple had also frozen roughly $200 million.

The incident adds to a growing series of cryptocurrency thefts. According to TRM Labs, attackers stole $2.9 billion in cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks last year. In September, exchange Bitget reported that around $350 million in crypto had been stolen from its platform, highlighting the industry’s continued vulnerability to cyberattacks.