$6.3 billion via a single laptop: Binance fell victim to the largest crypto heist in history
Hackers needed just 20 minutes and a single laptop. During this time, they withdrew a large portion of $6.3 billion in assets from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. According to blockchain analysts, North Korean hackers are behind the largest theft in crypto history.
**$6.3 billion through a single laptop: Binance suffers the largest crypto theft in history**
The attack was meticulously planned in advance and executed with extreme speed. According to the American blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, hackers attacked Binance's wallets across 10 blockchains on October 29. In Tashkent time, this occurred overnight into October 30. The vast majority of the funds were withdrawn in approximately 20 minutes.
According to Binance's preliminary investigation, it may have all started from an engineer's laptop that hackers compromised. Through this computer, the hacker accessed the exchange's internal system and sent unauthorized withdrawal commands.
There are various theories regarding how the attack was organized. In particular, according to TRM, the hackers were able to issue commands to Binance wallets to transfer funds to wallets under their own control. In 2025, money was stolen from Bybit using the exact same method.
Mark Karpelès, the former head of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange, suggested that the hackers might have obtained the private keys to at least two of Binance's wallets. Binance, however, stated that no evidence of leaked key information was found.
The Binance attack is the latest in a series of thefts in the crypto sector. According to TRM, in 2025, cryptocurrency worth a total of $2.9 billion was stolen across nearly 150 attacks. In September 2026, the Bitget exchange announced that nearly $350 million had been stolen from its platform.
**How much is the damage and who will it affect?**
There is a possibility of recovering a portion of the lost money. Binance, together with its partners, froze nearly $3 billion in assets. In particular, stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle blocked more than $2.3 billion. Ripple froze nearly $200 million, while World Liberty Financial, connected to US President Donald Trump's family, froze almost $29 million in assets. According to TRM, the hackers still retain $2.4 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum that cannot be frozen.
The attack also affected the exchange's customers. Binance has 335 million registered users. The exchange suspended withdrawals and expects to restore them within 48 hours. Yi He, co-founder and co-CEO of Binance, stated that the company will cover "all losses incurred from the hack." For this purpose, the User Secure Asset Fund and the company's own funds will be used. However, this fund holds only $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, while the stolen amount is more than six times that.