Binance freezes $2.54 billion as security probe halts transfers

Binance said Thursday it was investigating a potential security issue after crypto firms froze more than $2.5 billion, a response that dwarfs the $1.4 billion taken in the 2025 Bybit breach but comes with a crucial distinction: Binance has not confirmed that funds were stolen. The exchange said its current verified total frozen was $2.54 billion and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while it carried out security checks and worked with law enforcement, according to the Associated Press report.

The scale makes this a major security event even while the cause and losses remain unsettled. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said the incident “does look like a hack,” but he no longer manages the exchange. Binance’s public position remains that it is investigating reports of a potential issue and that user funds are safe. Those statements describe different levels of certainty: a former executive’s assessment is not confirmation of a breach, and frozen assets are not the same as assets recovered after a verified theft.

How did crypto firms freeze more than $2.5 billion?

Binance’s verified tally reached $2.54 billion Thursday evening as it coordinated with law enforcement, stablecoin issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze assets. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said his company froze more than $1.5 billion tied to a potential Binance hack; Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said Circle froze more than $800 million in coordination with law enforcement. Binance’s official account later specified approximately $1.567 billion in USDT and $823 million in USDC, while saying the incident remained under investigation.

Those two stablecoin figures total about $2.39 billion, less than Binance’s $2.54 billion headline tally. Reuters also reported that Binance co-founder Yi He said Ripple froze roughly $200 million. The amounts come from separate statements and reports, so they should not be treated as a reconciled accounting of distinct assets. Binance said the frozen total could rise as the investigation proceeds.

What does the Bybit comparison tell us?

The comparison is about potential scale, not confirmed losses. TechCrunch reported that hackers stole $1.4 billion from Bybit in a single breach in 2025, described at the time as a record. Binance’s stated frozen total is larger, but it measures assets blocked by crypto firms, not the amount proven stolen from the exchange. The company has not publicly confirmed that any funds were pilfered or explained what caused the suspected activity.

The response also differs from simply letting transfers continue while investigators establish what happened. Freezing issuer-controlled stablecoins can interrupt their movement and aid tracing; suspending deposits and withdrawals gives Binance time for checks, but also temporarily limits customers’ access to exchange services. Neither step resolves whether other assets moved, how much may be exposed or whether user funds will need to be covered.

What should users and markets watch next?

Bitcoin fell 3.2% Thursday evening to below $79,000, AP reported, as the investigation unfolded. That move shows how uncertainty around a major exchange can affect market confidence before losses are confirmed. Binance said it would provide updates through official channels once information is verified and urged users to avoid unofficial links, messages and requests for account information.

The next meaningful signals are a confirmed account of what happened, a reconciled breakdown of frozen assets, and Binance’s decision on when deposits and withdrawals can resume. Until then, the $2.54 billion figure measures the scale of the response, while the scale of any breach remains unknown.

Sources and documents

• the Associated Press report — apnews.com