More than $6 billion was stolen from Binance in what appears to be the biggest crypto hack ever
A blockchain firm, TRM, links the theft to North Korean hackers, and Binance says it appears the intruder got in through an engineer's laptop.
Reuters World News · Crypto hack, Serbia's next prime minister, remembering Patrick StewartMore than $6 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen from Binance, the world's largest place to buy and sell crypto, in what appears to be the biggest crypto theft ever.
Analysis of public blockchain records puts the amount moved from Binance wallets, digital accounts that hold crypto, to an attacker's wallets at about $6.3 billion. Binance itself puts the loss at more than $6 billion, and has suspended deposits and withdrawals while it responds.
TRM, a company that tracks stolen crypto, says hackers linked to North Korea took over some of Binance's storage and ran software that swept out the contents. That finding has not been independently verified. Binance says it seems the intruder got access to its systems through an engineer's laptop.
Binance has promised to pay for all losses. The companies that issue the stolen coins have frozen about half the haul so it cannot be used, and crypto prices fell as investors moved money into safer assets.
Questions people ask
Will Binance customers get their money back?
Binance has promised to cover all of the losses. It has suspended deposits and withdrawals while it responds to the theft.
How can stolen crypto be frozen?
Many widely used coins are issued by companies that can block specific holdings, by marking the stolen coins so exchanges will not accept them. That includes stablecoins, a type of crypto designed to stay worth about one dollar and often used for payments. Because those issuers acted, about half the stolen amount cannot be moved or cashed out.
Why did the hack hit crypto prices?
Investors moved money out of crypto and into safer assets, a sign of eroding trust in crypto. Bitcoin fell 3% in Asian trading after the news. The broader market signal was that people were pulling money out of cryptocurrencies altogether.