‘Largest Crypto Hack in History’: Binance Loses More Than $6B

The popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance was hit by hackers this week. The company confirmed on Thursday that attackers gained access to its servers and stole $6.3 billion, with analysts calling it one of the biggest thefts in cryptocurrency history.

Binance said hackers likely used an employee’s laptop to gain access to their servers. The company says it “will cover all losses” for affected traders using its secured reserves and funds. Binance is working with the FBI and US Secret Service on the investigation, Reuters reports. The company has temporarily paused all withdrawals.

Binance's initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. We have found no evidence of any wallet private… pic.twitter.com/5REncAI77y

— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026

Crypto prices fell across the board upon the news of the Binance breach. Cryptocurrency isn’t regulated like other stock markets or banks. Crypto markets are constantly open, and traders “mine” currency using complex computations that use a lot of energy. (If that sounds familiar, it’s because a lot of crypto operations were the blueprint for AI data centers.) Binance is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the government agency that protects your bank deposits (up to a certain amount) if your bank fails.

More from CNET

Binance told CNET that of the $6.34 billion the company is committed to covering traders’ losses, $5 billion is being held in exact token assets, with plans to purchase the rest through other market channels. “We are doing this to match the format of the remaining token assets and address any asset shortfalls,” a spokesperson said. So if you lost money in the form of bitcoin, you would ideally be reimbursed in bitcoin, not another cryptocurrency. “This step can take longer because some tokens may have low liquidity and OTC settlement also takes time.”

Cybersecurity breaches are increasingly escalating, thanks to AI powering both defenders and attackers. Polymarket, another crypto trading platform, temporarily paused trading on Thursday morning due to a third-party vendor issue, which was also referred to law enforcement, according to the company.

But the Binance hack may be the “largest hack in history,” according to blockchain research firm TRM. Blockchain analyses from TRM and Chainalysis attribute the hack to a North Korean group called TraderTraitor, but Binance and law enforcement officials have not confirmed that. The FBI told CNET the agency “is aware of the incident and is engaged with relevant public and private partners to understand the scope of the activity, evaluate potential impacts, and coordinate appropriate investigative steps.”

Reporter 2

Katelyn is a reporter with CNET covering artificial intelligence, including chatbots, image and video generators. Her work explores how new AI technology is infiltrating our lives, shaping the content we consume on social media and affecting the people behind the screens. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in media and journalism. You can reach her at kchedraoui@cnet.com. See full bio