Binance estimates it has lost around $6.3 billion following a security incident that began on Oct. 29, the Russian news agency TASS reported on Tuesday. The cryptocurrency exchange’s own investigation suggests an attacker gained access to a service container after a DevOps engineer’s laptop was compromised, enabling the submission of unauthorized withdrawal requests.
According to TASS, the breach allowed the attacker to move customer funds before Binance detected the irregularity, leading to the paralysis of withdrawals and the freezing of about $3 billion in affected assets. The exchange said its specialists are actively investigating the matter.
Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, serves hundreds of thousands of users across more than 180 countries. The company’s statement notes that all outbound transactions that did not originate from official Binance servers were halted to prevent further losses.
Regulators and industry analysts are monitoring the situation closely, with some calling for a faster regulatory response to bolster security standards within the rapidly expanding crypto market. The incident has sparked concerns among users about the safety of digital assets on centralized exchanges.
In the wake of this breach, Binance has issued a reminder that users should secure their own authentication keys and remain vigilant against phishing attempts. The exchange has also announced plans to conduct a full audit of its internal DevOps practices and to reinforce its multi‑factor authentication protocols in the coming weeks.
