Binance Loses $6.3 Billion in Record Crypto Heist

Overview

• Binance disclosed the theft late Thursday, Oct. 29, saying hackers drained about $6.3 billion from its hot wallets in a burst of transfers that took roughly 20 minutes.
• Company investigators say the breach began with a compromised DevOps engineer laptop that let attackers submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions through Binance systems.
• Industry partners and token issuers located or froze roughly $3 billion of the stolen assets after the theft, and Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while it works to restore security.
• Blockchain forensics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis link the operation with high confidence to a North Korea‑associated hacking unit and U.S. law enforcement agencies are assisting the probe.
• Binance says it will cover user losses using its SAFU emergency fund and company reserves, regulators and markets are watching for wider fallout, and some less liquid tokens may delay full reimbursement.