Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is investigating a potential security breach that could have affected assets worth around $6.3 billion, the company said on Thursday. However, it has not confirmed whether funds were stolen or established the full extent of the damage.

The exchange said it was working to resolve the issue and had temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks and coordinating with law enforcement and industry partners.

“Rest assured that user funds are completely safe,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement, adding that its security teams were reviewing all relevant information and would provide updates through official channels once the details were verified.

In a post on X, Binance said its estimated total impact stood at around $6.3 billion, with roughly $3 billion in affected assets frozen on the blockchain so far. The company added that it was working with blockchain partners to trace and freeze additional funds.

Binance's initial investigation suggested that the incident may have involved a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, which allegedly allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions.

The exchange said it had found no evidence of a wallet private key leak. It added that further technical details would be released after the investigation was completed and the findings fully verified.

Tether, Circle freeze funds linked to incident

Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle have also frozen assets associated with the potential breach.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company had frozen more than $1.5 billion in assets linked to what he described as a potential Binance exchange hack. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company had frozen more than $800 million in associated funds in coordination with law enforcement.

Binance said it was working with law enforcement agencies, token issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and other industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder who stepped down as CEO in 2023, also described the incident as a possible hack in a post on X.

“User funds are safe!” Zhao wrote, adding that although he no longer managed Binance, he expected all user funds to be fully covered as a shareholder.

The incident has also coincided with pressure on cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin fell 3.2% on Thursday evening, slipping below $79,000.

Binance investigates possible access through employee laptop

The suspected compromise of a DevOps engineer's laptop has emerged as a key line of inquiry. According to Binance's preliminary assessment, the attacker may have used access to a service container to initiate unauthorised withdrawals.

The company has not confirmed the identity of the attacker or established whether the incident resulted in a loss of user funds. It said it would release more technical information after verifying the facts.

The episode adds to persistent security concerns in the cryptocurrency industry, where exchanges and other platforms remain targets for cyberattacks and unauthorised transactions.

Founded in 2017, Binance allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets and has grown into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to a felony related to failures to prevent money laundering on the platform. US President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025.