Binance suspends deposits and withdrawals amid suspected large-scale hack
Binance halted all transactions and began freezing billions of dollars in assets after detecting unusually large transfers that may represent the largest cryptocurrency theft to date.
Binance announced on Thursday that it had temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while its security team conducts checks, freezes funds and cooperates with law enforcement. The exchange said the response involves partners across the crypto ecosystem to trace and freeze the affected assets.
The company indicated that billions of dollars in digital funds have already been frozen and that the amount could rise as investigations continue. It also pledged to cover any losses incurred by users.
The news triggered a dip in major cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin falling about 4.3% and Ethereum about 4.6% on the day.
Stablecoin issuers responded as well. Tether’s chief executive Paolo Ardoino said the firm had frozen more than $1.567 billion of its token, while Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire confirmed that the company had frozen hundreds of millions of dollars and was working with authorities.
Binance’s founder Changpeng Zhao said, "As a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."
The incident follows earlier reports of a security breach at the exchange and comes amid heightened global concern over cyber threats leveraging advanced artificial-intelligence tools.