Bitcoin Dips Below $79,000 After Suspected $5.8B Binance Hack

On Thursday, bitcoin fell below $79,000 following reports of a suspected multibillion-dollar hack at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.

Heavy outflows from Binance-linked wallets were cited as the reason for the selloff. Social media reports mentioned suspicious outflows of up to $5.8 billion, based on onchain data showing approximately $3.55 billion in incoming transfers to an unlabeled wallet.

Conor Grogan, a Coinbase senior director, estimated the figure at $5.8 billion.

Stablecoin issuers took steps to freeze assets. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that over 1.567 billion USDT were frozen by the company. Circle froze around $823 million in USDC, per former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who is still a shareholder.

Depending on the report, combined freezes fall between $1.8 billion and $2.4 billion. “Protecting the industry and our partners is our main priority,” Ardoino said.

Binance has not officially confirmed a breach. Co-founder Yi He wrote on X that the company is aware of reports of a potential security issue and that its security teams are reviewing all relevant information.

“We are aware of reports of a potential security issue and we are actively investigating…our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information. Users should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.”

In his view, the exchange seems to have been hacked, and he expects all user funds to be covered, Zhao wrote.

“I don’t manage Binance anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered,” Zhao posted.

Blockchain researcher Spreek flagged the activity, which reportedly included a transfer via a contract call allegedly funded by Tornado Cash. Blockaid stated it is investigating $3.3 billion in suspicious outflows from Binance hot wallets on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Avalanche.

Should it be confirmed, the incident would become the largest crypto theft ever, exceeding the February 2025 Bybit hack of about $1.5 billion. Aave reportedly suspended lending markets to prevent the suspected attacker from borrowing.

Binance.US said the incident has no impact on its platform.

Figures are still changing. One estimate places the realized loss at around 0.7% of Binance customer assets, and other reports are still updating totals. Neither Binance nor law enforcement has issued a formal explanation of the cause.

Crypto exchange Bybit was unaffected. They tweeted that their "systems are operating normally, trading and withdrawals remain available, and user assets remain secure."

Bitcoin price dips below $79,000 amid Binance hack concerns

Bitcoin was trading at $78,800, a decline of 2.89% (approximately $2,350) over the previous 24 hours. The price reached a 24-hour high of $81,890 around midday before dropping sharply after 4 p.m. ET, hitting a low of $78,177.37 following circulation of hack rumors.

Trading volume during the period was approximately $26.14 billion, and bitcoin's market capitalization was roughly $1.58 trillion.