Binance has officially confirmed a security breach incident, resulting in the loss of about US$6.3 billion in assets. According to a preliminary investigation, hackers gained access to Binance's systems and made unauthorised withdrawals by compromising the laptop of one of the exchange's engineers.
Binance has been working with industry partners to freeze the affected assets. As of now, the exchange has successfully recovered about US$3 billion, while Binance has not yet released further details on the whereabouts of the remaining approximately US$3.3 billion in assets. Binance co-founder Yi He said the company will bear all losses caused by the hack, fully demonstrating the exchange's commitment to user protection.
To respond to the crisis, Binance has temporarily suspended all deposit and withdrawal functions, and its security team is working closely with law enforcement and industry partners to trace the affected assets and prevent further losses. Binance stressed that user funds are properly safeguarded.
After the news was announced, the global cryptocurrency market fell in response. Bitcoin dropped more than 3% to US$76,368, a six-week low; Ethereum fell more than 3% to US$2,178, a nearly two-month low; and Binance Coin fell 5% within 24 hours.
Industry analysts noted that cryptocurrency industry theft incidents have occurred frequently in 2026, with the exchange Bitget only having suffered a theft of about US$350 million in September. With the application of artificial intelligence technology, hackers are finding system vulnerabilities faster than companies can fix them, a trend that has further weakened investors' confidence in small and medium-sized exchanges. Industry insiders warn that this incident may prompt more investors to concentrate on larger exchanges with more comprehensive security systems, and the industry's crisis of trust may deepen further.
(Video source: X)
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