Binance said the amount frozen could increase as it worked with law enforcement agencies, token issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and other industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs the company, said in a post on X the incident "looked like a hack."
Binance said it was conducting security checks and would resume withdrawals once the issue was fully resolved. It added user funds remained safe and that teams were reviewing the incident.
"Binance will cover all hacking losses," Binance co-founder Yi He said.
The exchange also temporarily suspended trading on its Binance Alpha platform as a precaution.
"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," the statement continued.
Stablecoin providers Tether and Circle each said they froze funds in response to the incident.
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, wrote on X the company had frozen the equivalent of more than $US800 million in currency associated with the incident "in coordination with law enforcement."
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on X the company froze the equivalent of more than $US1.5 billion in currency related to "a potential Binance exchange hack."
The price of Bitcoin dropped 3.2 per cent on Thursday to under $US79,000.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Zhao, who in 2023 pleaded guilty to a felony related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and stepped down as CEO. US President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2025.
with Reuters
29°C