Binance was the target of what security firms and analysts are calling the largest crypto heist in history, after attackers siphoned roughly $US6.3 billion from wallets associated with the exchange across at least four blockchains late last week.
Security researchers say the intrusion was preceded by a period of small test transactions that appeared designed to verify code able to seize control of accounts owned by the exchange and move assets out slowly before the main assault.
The assault began in earnest shortly after 4pm New York time, and within hours dozens of blockchain intelligence teams and Binance security staff were racing to trace transfers, freeze funds and stop further losses.
“It’s the largest bank robbery in human history,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs, one of the analytics firms that mobilised after the attack.
Stablecoin issuers acted quickly. Circle said it froze more than $US800 million linked to the exploit, and Tether froze in excess of $US1.5 billion, moves that blocked significant portions of the stolen funds from being moved further.
Analysts at TRM Labs, Chainalysis and Elliptic tracked the flows and concluded the operation was carried out by hacking groups tied to North Korea; the FBI later attributed the theft to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as well.
Technical analysis by researchers showed the attackers were able to access blockchain accounts that belonged to Binance and empty them even as the exchange attempted to replenish balances, and some of the stolen coins were moved alongside funds previously taken in the Bitget compromise earlier this year.
Binance executives set up a global war room that grew to about 100 staff as co-chief executive Yi He and others coordinated responses with law enforcement including the FBI and the US Secret Service. In a video posted on social media, Yi said the exchange would work with authorities to find the perpetrators and pledged to reimburse affected customers.
The incident comes after several other large exchange breaches in recent years, including a Bitget theft of about $US388 million last month and a $US1.5 billion heist from Bybit in February 2025, and has heightened concerns about security just as regulators and governments have signalled greater support for blockchain integration into mainstream markets.
Binance said it had restored 90 per cent of the tokens taken and planned to reinstate customers’ withdrawal access the day after the attack. Traders and some market participants traded on the dislocation: one trader said he made “tens of thousands of dollars” by shorting crypto amid the volatility.
Security founders and incident responders described the scale of the theft as alarming for institutional confidence in cryptocurrencies, and Binance said it would increase security investment and tighten internal standards as part of its recovery efforts.
