Binance Pauses Withdrawals After Suspected Multi-Billion Crypto Hack

What Binance said

Binance confirmed to TechCrunch that it is investigating a security incident after users reported funds being drained from the exchange's wallets. In an emailed statement, the company said it was aware of reports of a potential security issue and that user funds are completely safe, adding that it would share verified updates through official channels.

Binance spokesperson Ross O'Leary said the exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals on multiple networks following the incident as a precaution. Binance did not say whether it had received any correspondence from the hackers, and it is unclear who is behind the breach.

Estimates and frozen funds

Financial technology firm Circle froze about $800 million in Tether as it passed through its networks, while Tether froze about $1.56 billion related to the hack, according to TechCrunch. Crypto watchers estimate at least $2 billion has been drained from Binance's internet-connected hot wallets, and some estimates put losses as high as $5.7 billion, though those figures have not been confirmed and the theft may be ongoing.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder and largest shareholder who no longer runs the company, said in a post on X that the company had likely been hacked and that he expects user funds to be fully covered, without explaining the basis for that claim. TechCrunch reported that a confirmed multi-billion loss would likely rank among the largest crypto breaches in history; a 2025 breach at Bybit cost $1.4 billion and was blamed on North Korean hackers.

Separate Polymarket incident

Earlier on Thursday, prediction market Polymarket briefly halted trading after confirming a third-party company was compromised, which led it to pause withdrawals, TechCrunch reported. Security researchers said hackers stole around $2 million in user funds after compromising software developed by a company called DebugBear, according to the report.