Potential Binance ‘hack’ forces crypto firms to freeze $3 billion

A suspected hack at Binance prompted cryptocurrency firms to freeze about $3 billion in assets, the company said on Thursday.

The exchange, which described the situation as a “security issue,” has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while it “conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement.” It vowed to cover all losses.

“It does look like a hack on Binance,” the company’s co-founder Changpeng Zhao wrote in a post on the social platform X.

He touted fellow crypto firms Tether and Circle for quickly freezing funds. Zhao acknowledged he no longer manages the company but said he expects “all user funds will be fully covered.”

The Binance co-founder stepped down as CEO in 2023 when he pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws. President Trump pardoned Zhao in November 2025.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said his company froze more than $1.5 billion in USDT, the company’s dollar-backed stablecoin, in response to the potential hack. Stablecoins are digital tokens tied to stable assets, like the U.S. dollar.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire similarly said they are “closely tracking reports of a potential exploit involving Binance,” and have frozen more than $800 million in USDC associated with the incident. USDC is Circle’s stablecoin.

World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture launched by President Trump and his sons, froze $27 million of its USD1 stablecoin. Another crypto firm, Ripple, also said it was “actively freezing affected funds.”