Binance security probe: $2.5 billion frozen

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, confirmed on Thursday that it is investigating a potential security issue. By the evening of the announcement, cryptocurrency firms had frozen more than $2.5 billion in funds. The company stated that its teams are working around the clock to resolve the matter while all deposits and withdrawals remain temporarily suspended.

Binance posted on its X account that the verified total of frozen funds reached $2.54 billion. The company noted that this figure could rise as its teams coordinate with law enforcement, issuers, and blockchain intelligence firms to trace additional assets. A spokesperson said user funds are completely safe and that security teams are reviewing relevant information with urgency to provide updates through official channels.

Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle also acted to secure their respective assets. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, said the company froze the equivalent of more than $800 million in currency in coordination with law enforcement. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, stated that his firm froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in currency related to what he described as a potential Binance exchange hack.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, addressed the incident on X. He confirmed that the incident looks like a hack on Binance but assured followers that user funds are safe. Zhao said that as a shareholder, he expects all user funds to be fully covered, even though he no longer manages the company.

The exchange was founded in 2017 by Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony related to failing to prevent money laundering on the platform. He stepped down as CEO that year and was released from prison last year after serving his sentence for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Prosecutors had stated that no one had violated those regulations to the extent Zhao did. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in 2025.

Market prices reacted to the news on Thursday evening. The price of bitcoin dropped 3.2 percent to under $79,000. Binance has not explicitly confirmed that funds were pilfered, though the extent of the damage remains unclear as the investigation continues.