Cryptocurrency platform ‘Binance’ falls victim to the largest hack in history

Bangla Press Desk : Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reported that digital assets worth $6.3 billion were compromised in a cyberattack. This incident is believed to be the largest crypto hack in history.
On Thursday (October 29), the company announced that it had managed to seize approximately half of the affected assets; however, a significant portion remains under the control of the hackers. Binance has pledged to compensate for all losses resulting from the incident.
Preliminary investigations suggest that an engineer’s laptop may have been involved in the attack. Binance stated that after the laptop was compromised, the attackers used it to withdraw funds without authorization.
Two blockchain analytics firms have attributed the attack to a North Korean-linked hacker group known as "TraderTraitor." According to them, this incident surpasses the record-breaking $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange that occurred in 2025.
In a report, the AI-driven investigative firm TRM Labs noted that several characteristics of the attack on Binance align with previous cyberattacks linked to North Korea—including the aforementioned hack of Bybit.
Ari Redbord, Head of Global Policy at TRM Labs, described the Binance hack as an "unprecedented moment" for the cryptocurrency industry, noting that the sector has never witnessed an event of this nature before.
He added that the attackers still hold a vast amount of the stolen assets, meaning that efforts to track down and recover these funds are far from complete.
Another crypto analytics firm, Chainalysis, also stated that it is confident in its assessment that a North Korean group is behind the hack.
Eric Jardine, the firm’s Head of Research, has urged all cryptocurrency exchanges to remain vigilant, noting that the large volume of assets held by these platforms makes them attractive targets for hackers. Binance did not provide a direct response to a BBC inquiry regarding a potential link between this incident and North Korea. However, the company stated, "We are working closely with law enforcement partners to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

The incident concerns Binance.com. Meanwhile, Binance.US—a smaller crypto platform serving U.S. residents—reported that its own platform remained unaffected.

Binance Co-CEO Yi He expressed gratitude in several posts to various cryptocurrency issuers for their assistance in freezing the assets.

"Security comes first," she stated. "Withdrawals have been temporarily suspended until we can ensure a secure environment."

Two other major crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, announced that they had frozen a combined total of approximately $2.4 billion in assets linked to the suspected hack of Binance.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, stated that his company is closely monitoring reports of the potential cyberattack on Binance and has frozen over $800 million in assets associated with the incident.

Circle is the issuer and co-creator of USDC, one of the world’s largest U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, reported that his firm has frozen approximately $1.6 billion in assets connected to the suspected hack.

"Protecting the industry and our partners is our top priority," Ardoino said. His company issues the cryptocurrency known as USDT.

World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture linked to U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, stated that it has worked with partners to help freeze the stolen funds.

The crypto exchange Coinbase reported that its operations have not been affected by the incident. However, they are monitoring the situation. Bitcoin price drops.

Hours before Binance confirmed the security issue, several observers within the crypto industry had already raised concerns about a potential hack.

Founded in China in 2017, Binance allows users to trade digital assets. It is estimated that the platform has over 300 million registered users worldwide.

The exchange is currently under the scrutiny of regulatory bodies in various countries. In 2024, the company reported that the value of assets held in its custody exceeded $160 billion.

Following the news of the hack, the price of Bitcoin fell by more than 4%. The prices of other major cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and Solana, also saw significant declines. Source: BBC