CRYPTO PLATFORM BINANCE CONFIRMS MAJOR HACK, MORE THAN $2.5BN FROZEN

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Thursday that it had suffered a major hack, prompting the freezing of more than $2.5 billion in assets as companies moved to prevent further losses.

The platform suspended trading on certain products but sought to reassure customers, stating: “User funds are completely safe.”

The scale of any confirmed theft remained unclear in the report. Although industry observers suggested that substantial assets may have been stolen, frozen funds should not automatically be treated as money lost to hackers.

Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino said his company froze approximately $1.6 billion linked to a potential Binance hack. Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire also reported freezing more than $800 million in USDC.

Both companies issue stablecoins designed to track the value of the US dollar.

Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao, who remains a majority shareholder, also commented on the incident, saying it appeared to be a hack.

Some observers suggested the attack could exceed the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025. However, the report did not establish a final loss figure.

Bitcoin fell more than three per cent following the news, according to the report.

Further details about how the attackers gained access, which products were affected and whether customer assets were lost were not provided.