Suspicion of the largest crypto heist in history: massive hack of Binance exchange

Binance froze digital assets worth $3 billion following a suspected security breach, which Chainalysis calls the potential largest crypto heist in history. Tether and Circle joined the freeze. Markets responded with sharp price drops.

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced last night that it froze digital assets worth $3 billion following an investigation into a suspected security breach. Analytics firm Chainalysis defined this as the potential largest crypto heist in history. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle joined the move, freezing approximately $1.57 billion and over $800 million respectively, alongside Ripple and World Liberty Financial. Binance emphasized that customer funds are protected through a dedicated Bitcoin reserve fund, and the co-founder assured that the company will cover all hack losses. The impact on markets was immediate: Bitcoin weakened by about 2% to a six-week low ($77,646), Ethereum lost about 2% ($2,238), and BNB fell over 8% ($694). The exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals and the Binance Alpha platform. Experts warn of artificial intelligence capable of identifying security vulnerabilities faster than they can be patched.