Binance Suffers $6.3 Billion Hack, Marking Largest Theft in Crypto History

The $6.3 billion breach at Binance represents the biggest theft ever recorded in the cryptocurrency industry.

On Thursday, hackers managed to steal approximately $6.3 billion from Binance, setting a new record for the largest crypto heist to date.

Similar to the previous $1.5 billion loss by Bybit in February 2025 and the breach of Bitget in September, blockchain investigators have linked this unprecedented Binance hack to hackers reportedly sponsored by North Korea.

By Friday morning, Binance disclosed that investigators had uncovered additional vulnerabilities following initial suspicions that an engineer’s compromised laptop might have been exploited as an entry point.

Binance’s co-CEO Richard Teng clarified, “To be clear: the attacker did not simply use one engineer’s permissions, and this was not a single ‘one-click’ action. Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual.”

Binance announced it has allocated over $6.34 billion of its own funds to cover the losses, including $5 billion held in the exact tokens that were stolen during the hack.

The Ethereum upgrade EIP-7702 has come under scrutiny after the attackers utilized it to drain a Binance wallet. Blockaid CEO Ido Ben-Natan explained to Cointelegraph that compromised signing mechanisms likely facilitated the theft.

Ben-Natan noted that while the attackers could have stolen funds without EIP-7702, the upgrade possibly allowed them to circumvent security measures and withdraw assets in one swift operation.

Teng elaborated that the hacker exploited EIP-7702’s delegation feature to gain execution authority over a hot wallet, bypassing Binance’s standard approval processes. He also mentioned a “self-destruct mechanism” that erased tools and evidence, complicating the investigation.

Chainalysis observed thousands of transactions occurring rapidly, which suggests automated money laundering activity. The funds were shuffled between addresses and sometimes routed back to wallets previously used.

The incident sent shockwaves through crypto markets, prompting decentralized lending platform Aave to temporarily suspend new deposits and borrowing. Aave resumed operations on Friday afternoon, but Binance’s withdrawal functions remained on hold.

Teng stated that Binance is working on restoring the withdrawal service and conducting a comprehensive security audit across the company.

Binance expects to reinstate withdrawals within 40 hours after Teng’s Friday update and plans to release a full proof-of-reserves report by the following Monday.

This breach stands as a crucial moment in cryptocurrency security, highlighting the challenges even top exchanges face in safeguarding assets and the ongoing risks posed by sophisticated hacking groups tied to nation-states. They have significant implications for user trust and regulatory responses in the crypto sector.

The hack at Binance, resulting in the largest loss in crypto history, underscores the evolving threat landscape and the importance of robust security practices and transparency measures to protect users and maintain confidence in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.