Binance suffered a record $6.3bn heist, the largest in crypto history, originating from a compromised laptop of a development and operations engineer. Hackers exploited the engineer's system access to initiate unauthorized withdrawals across multiple blockchains, including Solana, Ethereum, Base, and Tron, rather than targeting private keys directly. The breach began at 8.05pm GMT on Thursday and continued for half an hour, with a second wave after 11pm.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that four tokens -- bitcoin, USDC, USDT on Tron, and USDT on Ethereum -- comprised 74% of the stolen funds. North Korean group Trader Traitor has been linked to the attack. Approximately $2.8bn of USDC and USDT have been frozen by issuers Circle and Tether, while roughly $3.3bn in other assets remain unfrozen.
Binance has pledged to reimburse users via its emergency reserve fund, which holds $1.2bn in bitcoin, and has already reserved over $6.34bn in company funds. The incident raises serious questions about withdrawal controls and system access management within the exchange's infrastructure.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing