Crypto experts and analytics firms estimate that more than $5 billion worth of digital assets, equivalent to approximately Rs 50,000 crore, may have been stolen in the breach. The incident triggered a sharp sell-off across the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin and several other major digital currencies recording declines of more than 5%.
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital money that can be purchased and traded online. The latest security breach at Binance has raised serious concerns about the safety of digital assets and the security infrastructure of major cryptocurrency exchanges.
The breach reportedly involved hackers breaking through Binance's security systems and gaining access to its digital asset infrastructure, allowing them to steal cryptocurrencies worth thousands of crores of rupees.
Binance responded by immediately suspending deposits and withdrawals to prevent further movement of funds. The company also assured customers that their money remained safe and promised to compensate users if the investigation established that they had suffered any losses. Its security teams have launched an investigation in coordination with international law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts. The company has also taken steps to block the routes used by the hackers.
Although Binance has not officially disclosed the total amount of cryptocurrency stolen, estimates from blockchain analytics firms suggest that the losses could be enormous.
According to Glassnode, the estimated amount stands at $5.3 billion. Chainalysis has put the figure at $5.9 billion, equivalent to approximately Rs 50,000 crore.
If these estimates are confirmed, the incident could become the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. Before this, the biggest reported cryptocurrency theft involved Dubai-based exchange Bybit in 2025, when North Korean hackers allegedly stole $1.5 billion. The estimated Binance theft would therefore be almost four times larger than the Bybit incident.
The three largest cryptocurrency hacks in history, based on the figures provided, include the 2026 Binance incident involving an estimated $5 billion, the 2025 Bybit hack involving $1.5 billion, and the 2022 Ronin Network breach, in which $625 million was stolen.
The incident could also have implications for Binance's extensive international user base. The exchange has more than 300 million registered users across over 100 countries. Of these, an estimated 2 crore to 2.5 crore users are from India. However, Binance has not yet released an exact figure indicating how many individual customer accounts have been affected by the breach. The available information does not establish the extent of the impact on individual users. Binance's US division was also mentioned in the information provided, but no further details about its exposure were disclosed.
Efforts to freeze the stolen digital assets have also gathered pace. Binance has reportedly frozen approximately $3 billion worth of digital assets, equivalent to around Rs 29,000 crore. Two other major cryptocurrency platforms have also taken action. Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen $1.6 billion, while Circle has blocked assets worth $800 million. Together, the three companies have frozen approximately $5.4 billion worth of digital assets, amounting to nearly Rs 50,000 crore.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, also reacted to the incident. In a post on social media platform X, Zhao wrote that the incident appeared to be a hack. Although he no longer manages the company's operations, he remains one of Binance's major shareholders.
The breach has already had a significant impact on cryptocurrency market sentiment. Following the security alert, Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, fell by approximately 5%. Other major digital currencies, including Ethereum and Solana, also recorded declines of nearly the same magnitude.
Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao in China, Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume. It has more than 300 million registered users worldwide. According to 2024 figures, Binance held $160 billion worth of digital assets belonging to users across the world, equivalent to approximately Rs 15 lakh crore.
Binance's investigation is now continuing in coordination with law enforcement agencies. The company has said that it will release a detailed post-mortem report once the investigation is complete. Until then, users have been advised to rely exclusively on updates shared through Binance's official communication channels.
The incident has also brought attention to the role of asset freezing in preventing hackers from moving stolen cryptocurrency. When a cryptocurrency exchange suffers a security breach, attackers often attempt to transfer stolen funds to other wallets or convert them into cash as quickly as possible.
Companies issuing stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) have the ability to blacklist or freeze specific wallet addresses at the blockchain level. Once an address is frozen, the assets associated with it cannot be transferred further or redeemed by the person controlling that address.
The scale of the reported Binance breach, combined with the coordinated freezing of billions of dollars in digital assets, has placed the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and the protection of customer funds under renewed scrutiny.
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