Hackers attack Binance website, steal $6.3bn

Cryptocurrency platform Binance has fallen victim to a major hack that hit around $6.3 billion in funds.

Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes – posted a series of messages on X on Thursday, October 29, 2026, noting that “user funds are completely safe” but also saying it would “cover all losses.”

The company said later on its X account for Latin America that “the total estimated impact is around $6.3 billion.”

“We have worked with blockchain partners to freeze the affected assets, with ~$3 billion frozen on-chain so far,” it added.

That would be four times the amount impacted in what had been the biggest-ever cyberattack of its kind to date – $1.5 billion taken in February 2025 from the Bybit platform.

The Bybit heist was attributed at the time to a group of hackers affiliated with North Korea called TraderTraitor.

Blockchain investigation firm TRM Labs said on Thursday it had “high confidence” that the Binance hack was also orchestrated by TraderTraitor, citing “robust on and off-chain intelligence.”

“Several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists,” TRM said.

DisCos generated N220.93bn in August — NERC

TraderTraitor is believed to be part of Lazarus Group – which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for “The Interview,” a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

For several hours before Binance confirmed the attack, industry observers said hackers had managed to reach the platform.

The prices of most major cryptocurrencies fell on news of the cyberattack, except for the stablecoins, which by definition can only fluctuate within tight margins.

At about 0400 GMT, bitcoin and Ethereum were down 0.8 per cent, recovering after plunges of nearly five-per cent and nearly six-per cent, respectively. BNB, native to Binance, was up 2.7 per cent after it tumbled nearly 10 per cent.

The attack on Binance comes as many analysts express worries that the ever-expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols.