Binance Pauses Some Withdrawals as $2.54B Frozen After Alleged Multi-Billion Hack

Binance has paused withdrawals on multiple networks while it investigates what security firms and trackers allege is a multi-billion-dollar hack of its hot wallets. At 7:22 p.m. ET Thursday, the exchange said the "current verified total frozen is $2.54 billion" and that its teams are working closely with law enforcement.

Binance has not called the event a hack, given a loss figure or said who is behind it. At 6:15 p.m. it said withdrawals "will resume as soon as the security issue is fully resolved" and that "user funds remain safe." A spokesperson called the pause a "precautionary measure," TechCrunch reported.

What the trackers allege

The outflows began about 4:24 p.m. ET, Unchained reported. PeckShieldAlert posted "Confirmed hack" at 5:22 p.m. At 7:27 p.m., tracker Lookonchain alleged that more than $5.8 billion was stolen and is being sold for other tokens. Arkham data put the total near $5.7 billion, per a post Arkham shared. Binance has not confirmed either number.

How a stablecoin freeze works

USDT and USDC are tokens whose issuers can block a wallet address. Once an address is frozen, the tokens in it can't be sent or swapped, but they aren't returned yet. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than 1.567 billion USDT. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Circle froze more than 800 million USDC "in coordination with law enforcement." Coins like ether have no issuer, so they can't be frozen this way.

Who says they will pay

Founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs Binance, wrote that it "does look like a hack." At 6:23 p.m. he replied to a post estimating the net loss near $1 billion: "Loss might be a bit higher than that, but will cover." For scale, the FBI tied a $1.5 billion theft from Bybit in February 2025 to North Korea.

BNB traded near $703 at 7:45 p.m. ET, down 7.3% in 24 hours, and bitcoin near $78,460, down 3.4%, per CoinGecko.

In our opinion: The $2.54 billion frozen is the only figure Binance itself stands behind, and the tracker totals are more than twice that. If those totals hold, the alleged theft would be nearly four times the size of Bybit's. Until withdrawals resume, users on the paused networks can't move funds off the exchange. Watch for Binance's own loss figure, a named cause and a date for withdrawals to restart.