Punjab Newsline | Mumbai
World's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has reportedly suffered a massive cyberattack, with cryptocurrency experts and analytics firms estimating that digital assets worth more than $5 billion (around ₹50,000 crore) may have been stolen. The incident is being described as potentially the largest cryptocurrency heist in history.
Following the discovery of the breach, Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals to prevent further losses. The hackers reportedly infiltrated the exchange's security systems and gained access to its digital assets.
The incident has also triggered a sharp decline in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin and several other digital currencies recording losses of more than 5%.
Binance has assured its customers that their funds remain safe and said it would compensate users if investigations establish that they have suffered any losses. The company's security teams are working with international law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts to identify the hackers and block further unauthorised transactions.
Although Binance has not officially disclosed the amount of cryptocurrency stolen, analytics firms have estimated the scale of the alleged breach at billions of dollars.
According to Glassnode, the estimated loss stands at $5.3 billion, while Chainalysis has put the figure at approximately $5.9 billion. If these estimates are confirmed, the incident could surpass all previous cryptocurrency thefts.
Previously, the biggest reported cryptocurrency theft involved Dubai-based exchange Bybit in 2025, when North Korean hackers allegedly stole approximately $1.5 billion worth of digital assets. The estimated losses in the Binance incident could be nearly four times higher.
Binance reportedly has more than 300 million registered users across over 100 countries. Of these, an estimated 20-25 million users are from India. However, the company has not yet disclosed how many individual accounts have been affected.
Meanwhile, Binance's US division, Binance.US, has reportedly remained unaffected by the incident.
