Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suspended trading as it investigates what could be the largest cyber theft ever recorded.
"Binance does appear to have been hacked," founder Changpeng Zhao posted on the social media platform X. "User funds are safe." Zhao no longer runs the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange but remains its largest shareholder.
He added that stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle acted quickly to freeze roughly $1.7 billion in stolen assets. Binance later revised that figure to $3 billion, spanning several different assets. But some cybersecurity analysts say the amount stolen by the hackers appears to be several billion dollars higher still.
Binance said it has suspended all deposits and withdrawals while its team conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement. When stablecoin issuers freeze stolen funds, the hackers cannot move, transfer, or cash out those specific crypto tokens. These issuers are effectively blacklisting the hackers' crypto wallet addresses, locking the tokens in the wallets before the hackers can swap them into other cryptocurrencies or launder them through mixers.
Taylor Monahan of the blockchain security group SEAL 911 said the funds stolen by the hackers are worth "well over $2 billion" and possibly as much as $5.5 billion. "However, information is changing fast, and it will take time to confirm the exact figure," Monahan said.
Blockchain tracking firm Chainalysis said in a post on X that it estimates the stolen funds at $5.9 billion, far exceeding the amount in any previous cyber theft. Investigators at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimate the stolen funds at more than $6 billion. Ari Redbord, the company's global head of policy, said this makes the case "the largest bank heist in human history."
The previous record for the largest cyber theft was set in 2025, when hackers stole $1.5 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. A Binance spokesperson said: "Our team is aware of reports of a potential security issue and is actively investigating." The spokesperson added: "Rest assured, user funds are completely safe."
Just hours before Zhao's post, prediction market platform Polymarket disclosed that it too had been hacked, with at least $2.6 million in user funds stolen from its accounts. Crypto exchanges are attractive targets for hackers. Unlike stock exchanges, which provide trading services but do not actually hold securities on investors' behalf, many crypto exchanges custody cryptocurrencies for their clients. As a result, many crypto exchanges have suffered thefts, with hackers stealing customer funds from their crypto wallets in the hope of cashing out.
"In dollar terms alone, this loss is enormous," said Kevin March, co-founder of JPEG Trading. Given that Binance has a $1.2 billion insurance fund and that Tether and Circle moved quickly to freeze the stolen assets, he expects the loss to be manageable for Binance. Binance's U.S. arm, Binance.US, said it was not affected by the security incident.
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