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Binance hit by $6.3bn breach in what could be the biggest crypto heist on record

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suspended deposits and withdrawals after a breach estimated at $6.3 billion, which industry experts say could be the biggest crypto theft on record.

What happened

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been hit by a breach estimated at $6.3 billion, which industry experts say could be the biggest crypto theft on record, according to The Times. The company said user funds remain safe and suspended all deposits and withdrawals as a precaution while its security teams conduct checks, secure wallet infrastructure and trace affected assets with the support of law enforcement and industry partners.

An initial investigation suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of Binance's engineers, which let an attacker gain access to one of its systems and make unauthorised withdrawals.

Who may be behind it

The analytics firm TRM Labs said a North Korean hacking unit known as TraderTraitor could be responsible, as elements of the attack resemble earlier North Korean-linked incidents. The incident adds to a growing string of crypto thefts: attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks last year, according to TRM Labs.

The response so far

World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to President Trump and his family, said it had worked with the cryptocurrency custodian BitGo to freeze funds stolen in the attack. Binance's Yi He said $27 million in stablecoins and about $2 million worth of World Liberty tokens had been frozen.

Binance.US, a separate cryptocurrency exchange, said it was not affected by the incident. Coinbase also said it was unaffected and was monitoring the situation.

Market reaction

In early Asian trading on Friday, Bitcoin dropped more than 3 per cent to a six-week low of $76,368 and Ether fell more than 3 per cent to a two-month low of $2,178.

Binance has 335 million registered users globally and held about $162.8 billion in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report.

Why this matters

The reported entry point is a familiar one: a single compromised laptop belonging to an engineer. Once that device reached internal systems, the attacker was able to move towards withdrawals. It is a reminder that the value an organisation holds is only as safe as the least protected machine that can reach it.

For exchanges, custodians and any organisation holding high-value digital assets, the question is not only how well live systems are defended, but how much remains reachable through them at any moment. Assets that stay permanently connected stay within reach.

Offline Secure Storage® from Firevault keeps dedicated copies of critical assets physically disconnected by default, reachable only through an authorised, identity-verified session. It does not replace good security practice in live systems, but it reduces how much value sits on a network path at any one time.

Source: The Times, "Binance hack: world's largest crypto exchange hit by $6.3bn breach", 30 October 2026. Firevault has not independently verified the report.

Sources and reporting notes

1. thetimes.comPrimary reporting referenced in this analysis.

Incident facts are attributed to the named sources; the recommendations and product discussion are Firevault analysis by Mark Fermor.