Finance1 min read

Circle, Tether freeze funds impacted by potential Binance 'security issue'

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Major stablecoin operators moved aggressively to lock down assets following reports of an exploit targeting the world's largest digital asset exchange. The precautionary measures triggered an immediate market retreat that pushed major cryptocurrency values down and hit related equities. Binance is currently investigating the potential security incident but has not officially verified that an exploit occurred. Meanwhile, the exchange assured customers that all user funds are completely safe as security reviews continue.

Key points

  • Stablecoin issuers acted swiftly to freeze approximately $1.8 billion tied to the alleged…: Stablecoin issuers acted swiftly to freeze approximately $1.8 billion tied to the alleged exploit.
  • Binance has not confirmed a breach but stated that user balances remain completely secure.: Binance has not confirmed a breach but stated that user balances remain completely secure.
  • Market reaction was immediate, resulting in drops for both major cryptocurrencies and sha…: Market reaction was immediate, resulting in drops for both major cryptocurrencies and shares of Circle.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Circle Internet Group and Tether froze roughly $1.8 billion worth of funds tied to a potential hack on cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes has not explicitly confirmed that it has suffered an exploit as of writing time. In a social media post, the company said it was investigating "a potential security issue" on its trading platform.

"Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement. "Rest assured that user funds are completely safe. 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."

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Thursday evening in a social media post that the company had frozen more than 800 million in USD Coin associated with the incident. USDT stablecoin issuer Tether CEO Paolo Adroino also said in a statement published on X that his firm had frozen more than 1.5 billion of its stablecoin that may have been related to…

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