Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, reported a suspected Binance hack on October 29 with an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, and about half of the affected assets have been frozen. Analysts have attributed the incident to North Korea, but the exchange has not confirmed that link.
According to the Straits Times, Binance said a security breach had an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, and analysts said it could be the biggest crypto heist ever. The exchange said it had worked with partners to freeze about $3 billion of affected assets so far. It gave no update on the remaining $3.3 billion.
According to Rappler, TRM Labs said the North Korean hacking unit TraderTraitor was behind the attack, based on intelligence sources it has. BBC World reported that two analytics firms attributed the incident to a North Korean hacking unit, though no one has claimed responsibility. Binance did not directly respond to questions about possible links to North Korea. No government or law enforcement confirmation appears in the reporting.
Binance’s initial investigation suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers, which allowed unauthorized withdrawals, according to the Straits Times.
Binance said deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended while its security teams conduct checks, and said user funds remain safe. According to the Straits Times, bitcoin fell more than 3% to a six-week low of $76,368 in early Asian trading on Friday, and ether fell more than 3%.
Binance has 335 million registered users globally and about $162.8 billion in assets under custody, according to its 2025 annual report. TRM Labs said TraderTraitor was also behind the $1.5-billion Bybit hack in 2025, and said the features of the Binance attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.
Tether said it froze nearly $1.57 billion in assets linked to the incident, Circle froze more than $800 million, and Ripple froze roughly $200 million.
Binance says it will cover all hacking losses and is working with law enforcement and industry partners to trace the assets. The status of the remaining roughly $3.3 billion and the resumption of deposits and withdrawals are still pending.
Most of the key details come from the Straits Times. The attribution rests on analytics firms and TRM Labs, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.