Binance hit by $6.3 billion hack; analysts point to North Korea
Binance says a security incident on Oct. 29 affected about $6.3 billion in digital assets, roughly $3 billion of it frozen so far. Blockchain analysts attribute it to a North Korean state-backed unit. Binance has paused deposits and withdrawals and says it will cover all losses.
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Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, that a security incident had an estimated total impact of about $6.3 billion, with about $3 billion frozen so far. The exchange said its initial investigation points to a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, which may have let an attacker reach a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawals. Binance said it found no evidence that wallet private keys were compromised, Fox News reported.
All deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended. "Users will not bear the financial impact of this incident. Binance will cover all losses," a spokesperson told Fox Business.
Who analysts blame
Blockchain analytics firms have attributed the attack to a North Korean state-backed hacking unit, the BBC reported. The FBI previously tied related actors to the $1.5 billion Bybit theft in February 2025, the previous record, according to CNBC. Binance said it is working with law enforcement to confirm the identity of those responsible. Breitbart also reported the North Korea suspicion around the roughly $6.3 billion incident.
Freezes and market reaction
The Epoch Times reported Binance's figure of about $3 billion frozen after the incident. Axios and the New York Post covered the exchange's response and founder Changpeng Zhao's comments that user funds are safe. The Guardian reported bitcoin fell more than 3% in early Asian trading Friday and noted Zhao's 2023 U.S. guilty plea tied to anti-money-laundering failures and a 2025 pardon by President Trump. Fox Business highlighted the exchange's pledge to cover losses.
Why it matters
If the estimates hold, this is the largest crypto theft on record, roughly four times the Bybit hack. Western security agencies have said stolen crypto helps fund North Korea's weapons programs, the BBC reported. The next questions are how much more is frozen, when withdrawals resume, and whether the incident shapes the stalled U.S. debate over crypto rules.