Binance Freezes Withdrawals After $6.3 Billion Theft

On October 30, Binance announced the suspension of withdrawals following a massive theft of approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency, marking it as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The incident occurred late on October 29, prompting Binance to assure customers that their funds are safe and that the exchange will cover all losses.

Co-chief executive Richard Teng stated that about $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen through collaboration with blockchain partners. Binance aims to restore withdrawals within 48 hours while enhancing security measures.

Preliminary investigations suggest that a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer may have been used to access the exchange's infrastructure and execute unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs traced the stolen funds moving from Binance wallets to addresses controlled by the attackers, attributed to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor.

Binance's own investigation has not confirmed responsibility for the attack.