Binance Pauses Withdrawals Amid Suspected Multibillion-Dollar Wallet Drain

Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals on multiple networks while investigating a security incident after users reported cryptocurrency being drained from its wallets. Outside observers estimated potential losses of at least $2 billion, with some estimates exceeding $5.7 billion, but neither the amounts nor whether a theft was ongoing had been confirmed. Binance maintained that user funds were safe; founder Changpeng Zhao separately said he expected users’ funds to be fully covered, without explaining the basis for that expectation.

Stablecoin issuers moved to contain suspected proceeds: Tether reportedly froze 971 million USDT in one linked wallet, while later reporting cited more than $1.5 billion frozen by Tether and additional freezes by Circle. The figures may overlap and should not be treated as confirmed net losses. No attacker or initial compromise method had been identified, and social-media speculation linking the incident to Lazarus remained unsubstantiated. Separately, Polymarket halted trading and withdrawals after a third-party compromise reportedly stole approximately $2 million in user funds; no connection to the Binance incident was established.