Binance Loses $5.5 Billion in Suspected Hack; Tether, Circle Freeze $1.8 Billion
MissedBlock Desk · · 3 min read
Updated
Binance Faces Potential $5.57 Billion Breach, Largest Crypto Hack on Record
At least $5.57 billion in cryptocurrency has been moved from wallets associated with Binance across three blockchains, in what appears to be a significant breach of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. If confirmed as a hack, this incident would represent the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
Binance has not yet confirmed that its exchange has been compromised, but stated it is aware of a “potential security issue and is actively investigating.”
“We have not confirmed any impact to user funds,” the company posted on X. “Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information.”
The funds originated from Binance’s hot wallets, which are internet-connected wallets used by exchanges to process customer withdrawals. The total amount comprises $3.51 billion on Ethereum, $1.44 billion in 18,270 Bitcoin, and $630 million on Tron.
The initial Ethereum transaction, recorded at 20:24 UTC, saw 167,464 ETH and 63 token transfers moved to a newly created address. This included $1.615 billion in USDT, a stablecoin designed to maintain a $1 value, according to Etherscan.
Approximately three minutes prior, an address funded via Tornado Cash, a service that obscures cryptocurrency transaction trails, submitted a delegation for a Binance hot wallet using EIP-7702. This Ethereum feature allows a standard wallet to execute smart contract code. Odysseas Lamtzidi, founder of Phylax Systems, explained on X that “7702 lets a normal wallet execute delegated code. The delegation persists; that code can authorize later transfers without another signature from the wallet.”
The method by which the attacker obtained the necessary signature remains unclear. In response, Tether has frozen 975.1 million USDT in the primary receiving address. Circle, the issuer of the rival stablecoin USDC, also froze 823 million USDC in the same wallet at 21:04 UTC, bringing the total frozen assets to approximately $1.8 billion. While both issuers have the capability to block specific addresses from moving their tokens, the attacker is reportedly moving funds rapidly.
“Circle is closely tracking reports of a potential exploit involving Binance,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire posted on X. “In coordination with law enforcement, we have frozen more than 800M USDC associated with the incident and will continue supporting the investigation.”
The incident has had an immediate impact on the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin saw a decline, falling below $79,000, a drop of about 2.6% in the past 24 hours. BNB, Binance’s native token, experienced a steeper fall of approximately 7%, trading around $699. In contrast, Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, saw a rise of about 6% to $637, mirroring a significant surge it experienced after a $333 million Bitcoin theft in April 2025.
This event dwarfs a previous security incident where Binance lost 7,000 Bitcoin, valued at around $40 million, in a 2019 hack. The current $5.57 billion figure is more than triple the estimated $1.5 billion lost in the Bybit heist in February 2025, which was previously considered the largest crypto hack on record.