Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been hit with a massive security breach. Blockchain analysts believe the hackers have stolen nearly $6 billion in crypto from wallets linked to the exchange.
According to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, the suspected hack initially involved crypto worth $5.3 billion.
The hackers made some of the biggest transfers out of the crypto exchange, including an estimated $1.66 billion in Tether (USDT), 17,985 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $1.45 billion, and $767 million in USD Coin (USDC).
Other crypto tokens involved in the suspected hack included Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Tron (TRX).
According to Glassnode, the suspicious outflows occurred sequentially across various blockchains. XRP transfers came first, followed by SOL, BTC, and others.
Glassnode also noted that the exchange's BNB balance wasn't touched.
The total suspicious outflows are close to $5.9 billion.
The total losses aren't known yet. Analysts are sharing different estimates as they watch funds jump from one blockchain address to another.
CZ breaks silence
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance's co-founder and former CEO, acknowledged the apparent security breach. At the same time, he assured Binance's customers that they are safe.
"It does look like a hack on Binance," Zhao wrote on X.
The billionaire commended the quick response of stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle, which froze about $971 million and $823 million, respectively.
"I'm not running Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered," Zhao emphasized.
In his next post, Zhao admitted that the actual losses could be higher, even though an analyst estimated that about $1B in exposure remained after the assets were frozen. But he again reaffirmed that the losses would be covered.
Billions in crypto frozen
The quick response from major stablecoin issuers was crucial.
Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company had frozen over 1.567 billion USDT linked to the potential hack at Binance.
"Protecting the industry and our partners is our main priority," Ardoino stated.
Meanwhile, Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire confirmed that the company had frozen over $800M in USDC in coordination with law enforcement.
Later on, Binance provided an update. The exchange confirmed that the total amount of frozen assets came to $2.54B. Binance also warned that this number could increase as the investigation is ongoing.
Biggest crypto hack ever
If the highest estimates of stolen funds are accurate, the Binance incident could be the biggest crypto hack ever.
In February 2025, the record was set when crypto exchange Bybit lost about $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum in an attack that was linked to North Korean hackers.
Following the suspected breach at Binance, the broader crypto market fell.
Bitcoin briefly dipped below $79,000. Ethereum fell below $2,300. XRP is down by almost 7%. Binance's native crypto token BNB dropped even harder. It dipped about 7% during the initial response.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
