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UNIBinance says $6.3bn hack traced to employee laptop as liquidations top $1.54bn
Binance has confirmed a $6.3bn theft after a compromised employee laptop let attackers withdraw funds, triggering a marketwide sell-off in which crypto liquidations passed $1.54bn.
Why it matters: A confirmed $6.3bn theft at the largest exchange, with withdrawals halted and most losses falling on leveraged longs, is the kind of event that tests confidence across crypto markets.
Key points
- Crypto liquidations topped $1.54bn, with long positions accounting for $1.29bn, just over 80% of the total.
- Bitcoin fell to a multiweek low of $76,320, with liquidations near $500m, before rebounding to $78,400.
- Binance says partners froze about $3bn of the stolen funds and it will use its SAFU fund and corporate reserves to cover customer losses.
Crypto liquidations passed $1.54bn after Binance confirmed a $6.3bn hack, according to Bitcoin.com News. Long positions bore the brunt, at $1.29bn, or just over 80% of the total, as the news set off a broad sell-off.
Bitcoin dropped to a multiweek low of $76,320, with liquidations on the top cryptocurrency approaching $500m, a fivefold rise from under $99m 12 hours earlier. Longs made up $405m of that, with shorts at $93m. Ethereum long liquidations alone exceeded $300m against under $55m in shorts. HYPE was a rare exception, with $19.6m in short liquidations against $12m in longs after a 20% surge.
Onchain analyst ZachXBT linked the exploit to Tradertraitor, a threat actor tied to North Korea.
Deposits and withdrawals remain suspended while checks are completed.
What to watch: Binance has not said when deposits and withdrawals will resume, which remain halted while security checks are completed.
Live updates on NewsFeeds:AltcoinsBitcoinDesk editor: Keshav Aggarwal (accountable for this page; this summary was not edited by hand)
How this was produced: an AI model wrote this summary of Bitcoin.com News’s report, which we credit and link above. Read our Editorial and AI policy. Spotted a mistake? See Corrections.
Not investment advice. Read the risk disclaimer.