Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has reportedly suspended deposits and withdrawals following a suspected cyberattack said to have exposed digital assets worth approximately $6.3 billion.
The exchange reportedly confirmed the security incident in a statement on Friday, saying it had commenced investigations and was working with blockchain partners to freeze the affected assets.
Preliminary findings indicated that the attack might have originated from a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, allegedly allowing an unauthorised person to gain access to a service container used to initiate withdrawal transactions.
“Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions,” the company stated.
Despite the suspected breach, the exchange reportedly said its preliminary investigation had not identified evidence that wallet private keys were compromised.
Binance also indicated that it would release a detailed technical report after completing its investigation into the incident.
The reported financial exposure was estimated at about $6.3 billion, with approximately $3 billion worth of the affected assets said to have been frozen through cooperation with blockchain partners.
The company further assured customers that they would not suffer financial losses arising from the incident, promising to cover any losses through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and corporate funds.
“User funds are safe. We will also publish an updated Proof of Reserves once the remediation is complete,” Binance said.
As part of its immediate response, the exchange reportedly suspended deposits and withdrawals while its technical and security teams carried out checks to contain the incident.
It also revoked authorisation for the affected address and contacted law enforcement agencies and blockchain intelligence firms to assist in tracing and recovering the assets.
The exchange said its security and technical personnel were working to resolve the situation, while cooperating with relevant authorities to identify those responsible and support possible prosecution.
Binance added that it would provide further information as investigations progressed.
The reported incident highlights the security risks facing cryptocurrency platforms, particularly the potential consequences of unauthorised access to systems responsible for processing digital asset transactions.
