Binance Pauses Transfers, Estimates $6.3 Billion Impact From Security Incident

Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating a security incident that the cryptocurrency exchange estimates affected about $6.3 billion in assets. The company said roughly $3 billion had been frozen on-chain through work with blockchain partners. Those figures remain company estimates as the investigation continues.

In its latest update, Binance said its initial investigation pointed to a potentially compromised DevOps engineer's laptop. The company said that may have allowed an attacker to reach a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. It said it had found no evidence of a wallet private-key leak, while cautioning that a detailed technical account would follow once the facts were verified.

Binance said it would cover all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and company funds. It also said user funds were safe and promised an updated proof-of-reserves report after the response work was complete. These are assurances from the exchange, not an independent audit of the incident or its finances.

The exchange said it revoked the affected address authorization and brought in law enforcement and blockchain-intelligence partners to trace and recover funds. It described the deposit and withdrawal suspension as a precaution while security checks were carried out. Its announcement did not give a firm time for normal transfers to resume.

Reuters separately reported that stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle had frozen assets linked to the suspected breach, with other cryptocurrency companies also assisting. The freezes are part of efforts to restrict the movement of affected assets; they do not mean every affected asset has been recovered or returned.

The cause and final scale of the incident remain under investigation. Binance said it would release more details after completing its technical review. Customers should distinguish the company's current estimates and preliminary findings from a final accounting of losses, recoveries and the method used to gain access.