Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has detected signs of a large-scale theft of digital assets and launched an investigation. The scale of emergency asset freezes by stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle alone exceeds $2.367 billion (3.2 trillion won), heightening industry concerns.
According to Bloomberg on Thursday (local time), Binance immediately began an urgent security review after a potential hack was reported. The company stated that no damage to customer assets has been confirmed.
A Binance spokesperson said, “We are aware of reports regarding a potential security issue and are actively investigating,” adding, “We plan to make an announcement through official channels as soon as verified information is available.”
Paolo Ardoino, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tether, posted on his X account, “We have frozen over 1.557 billion USDT involved in the suspected Binance hack.”
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, also posted on his X account, “We are closely monitoring reports of a potential security vulnerability related to Binance,” adding, “Circle has frozen over 800 million USDC related to the incident in cooperation with law enforcement agencies and will continue to cooperate with the investigation.”
On the same day, Zhao Changpeng, co-founder and largest shareholder of Binance, shared an article on his X (formerly Twitter) account stating that “Tether froze assets after signs of a cyberattack occurred at Binance.” Major foreign media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), reported by citing Zhao’s post.
In the post, Zhao said, “It appears a hack has occurred at Binance,” adding, “User funds are safe. Although I no longer manage Binance, as a shareholder, I expect all user funds to be fully compensated.”
Binance stated that it operates the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to prepare for emergencies. The fund was established in 2018 with an initial size of approximately $1 billion.
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