Finance1 min read

Crypto giant Binance freezes $2.5bn of assets over suspected hack

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Binance halted transaction processing across the exchange to carry out urgent security checks while investigating an incident described by former CEO Changpeng Zhao as an apparent hack. External platforms Tether and Circle supported the response by freezing roughly $1.7bn in stolen cryptocurrency. Binance is coordinating directly with law enforcement agencies and partner organizations to trace missing assets, warning that the total amount of frozen funds could rise. A full post-mortem analysis will be published once the ongoing inquiry wraps up.

Key points

  • Binance has committed to covering all financial losses to ensure customer balances remain…: Binance has committed to covering all financial losses to ensure customer balances remain safe.
  • The exchange warned that the volume of frozen assets could increase as tracking efforts c…: The exchange warned that the volume of frozen assets could increase as tracking efforts continue with law enforcement.
  • A comprehensive post-mortem report will be released to the public once investigators fini…: A comprehensive post-mortem report will be released to the public once investigators finish reviewing the breach.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

- Published

Cryptocurrency giant Binance said on Thursday that it has frozen digital assets worth more than $2.5bn (£1.87bn) to prevent them from being stolen while it investigates a security issue.

The company said as part of a series of alerts online that all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while its teams conduct security checks and that the firm will "cover all losses".

"It does look like a hack on Binance," said Binance's former boss Changpeng Zhao, who remains a majority shareholder of the firm.

Zhao added that two other crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, have also frozen around $1.7bn in stolen assets. The BBC has contacted both firms for comment.

Binance said the amount of funds frozen may continue to increase as its teams work closely with law enforcement and other partners to trace and seize additional assets.

"We are working around the clock and will share a full post-mortem once the investigation is complete. Please rely only on official Binance channels for updates," it said, adding that users' funds are safe.

Binance is the world's largest crypto…

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