Binance Says Cyberattack Enabled Nearly $6 Billion Withdrawal
A cyberattack on Binance reportedly resulted in the withdrawal of nearly $6 billion, prompting declines in major cryptocurrencies. The exchange said it found no evidence that private crypto wallet keys were exposed and has worked with law enforcement and blockchain analytics firms to trace and recover the funds.
Key points
- The cyberattack occurred Thursday evening and reportedly enabled nearly $6 billion to be withdrawn.
- Bitcoin fell from about $85,000 to $78,000 by Friday morning.
- Binance found no evidence that private crypto wallet keys were exposed.
- Binance and its partners froze about $3 billion in blockchain assets.
- The exchange temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while checking security.
- Serhii Fursa called the incident the largest cyberattack with financial consequences in cryptocurrency history.
Why it matters
The reported scale of the loss and the immediate decline in major cryptocurrencies could undermine confidence in centralized crypto exchanges and increase scrutiny of how exchanges protect customer assets and transaction systems.
What happened
Binance was targeted in a cyberattack on Thursday evening, after which nearly $6 billion was reportedly withdrawn from the exchange. Major cryptocurrencies declined following the news, with Bitcoin trading at about $78,000 on Friday morning compared with roughly $85,000 recently.
Binance said it found no evidence that private wallet keys were exposed. It temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while conducting a security review. Preliminary findings indicated that attackers may have obtained access to a service container through a compromised laptop belonging to one of the DevOps engineers, allowing them to submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
The exchange and its partners froze around $3 billion in blockchain assets, revoked authorization for the affected address and enlisted law enforcement and blockchain analytics companies to trace and recover the funds. Binance said it would publish a detailed technical report and update its reserve figures once the investigation and remediation were complete. It also said users’ funds remained safe and that losses would be covered by the SAFU fund and the company’s own resources.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage highlighted the unprecedented scale of the reported attack and the immediate fall in cryptocurrency prices. Market attention was divided between the Binance incident and investor concerns over corporate reporting and a possible artificial-intelligence bubble.
Background
At the end of the week, investors and speculators were also focused on corporate reporting amid concerns about a possible artificial-intelligence bubble. Serhii Fursa named Boeing and Google among major companies whose corporate reporting disappointed investors.