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2026 Binance hack
2026 cryptocurrency theft
On 29 October 2026, digital assets worth USD$6.36 billion were stolen from Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, by the North Korea-linked hacking group TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group. The hack is the largest ever cryptocurrency heist.
Hack
According to the blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, the hack was carried out by the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group. The hack itself took approximately 20 minutes, during which assets worth $6.36 billion were taken out of ten blockchains. According to Binance's CEO Richard Teng, the hackers used a multi-signature protocol called EIP-7702 to execute the attack on Binance's hot wallet. Binance said that it believed the attack was carried out via a compromised software engineer's laptop, through which the hackers made unauthorized withdrawals. The hackers likely prepared the attack at least 36 hours in advance.
Aftermath
Following the cyberattack, Binance halted all trades and froze assets worth $3 billion. The company announced that they would cover all losses resulting from the hack, saying that all user funds were "completely safe". Binance also announced that they were cooperating closely with law enforcement to determine the origin of the hackers.
Bitcoin fell by 5% after the hack was announced.
Binance will show proof of reserves on 2 November, and Teng plans to resume services on Binance within 40 hours. Binance says that they have set aside $6 billion to help cover losses.
Investigation
The United States Secret Service said that it was working to track the stolen funds from Binance.