Binance hack of $6.3 billion becomes largest crypto theft on record

what happened

Cointelegraph reports that hackers stole roughly $6.3 billion from Binance on Thursday, the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded. Onchain investigators linked the exploit to North Korea-backed hackers, with a pattern similar to Bybit's $1.5 billion loss in February 2025 and the Bitget breach in September.

Binance first suspected a compromised engineer's laptop, but by Friday morning said it had found further breach points. The exchange earmarked over $6.34 billion of company money to cover losses, including $5 billion in the same tokens that were taken. Chainalysis tracked thousands of rapid transactions that may point to automated laundering.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the attacker used an EIP-7702 delegation to gain control of a hot wallet, bypassing the usual approval procedures. Withdrawals remain suspended while the company rebuilds the service and runs a security review. Aave briefly froze new deposits and borrowing before reopening on Friday afternoon.

why it matters

For traders, the main channel is sentiment: a breach at the largest exchange raises doubts about asset custody and withdrawals, which can weigh on crypto prices while users wait for operations to resume. The reserve report Binance promised by Monday will be a key checkpoint.

market impact

Bitcoin and Ethereum: security fears and frozen withdrawals add pressure on crypto prices.

• ▼Bitcoin pressure down — a major exchange breach and suspended withdrawals raise risk aversion toward crypto
• ▼Ethereum pressure down — questions about EIP-7702 security add doubts about the network

tags

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