Binance's possible hack triggers $3 billion freeze in crypto assets

Binance suspended all deposits and withdrawals Thursday after a compromised laptop let an attacker access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B, the exchange said on X. About $3 billion in related assets have been identified and frozen, Binance said. It pledged to cover all losses, stated user funds are safe, and said it is working with law enforcement partners. Tether froze more than $1.567 billion USDT, CEO Paolo Ardoino said. Circle froze more than $800 million USDC, CEO Jeremy Allaire said. Changpeng Zhao posted that it does look like a hack, thanked Tether for about $971 million and Circle for about $823 million frozen, and said as a shareholder he expects all user funds fully covered. Kevin March called the episode unprecedented and said if it happened to any other crypto business it would have been catastrophic. On-chain tallies diverge: Decrypt counted at least $5.57 billion across Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron; Conor Grogan estimated up to $5.8 billion; Blockaid saw about $3.3 billion in suspicious hot-wallet outflows. Issuer freeze figures and wallet tallies do not fully reconcile. Nick Carlsen told The Wall Street Journal, This was absolutely North Korea. Binance has not confirmed who was responsible. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB fell as the news spread.