The world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, dropped to $77,646 on Friday. Ether, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency, meanwhile dropped to a two-month low of $2,239. BNB, a token originally launched as Binance Coin to be used to pay Binance fees, crashed more than 8% over the past 24 hours at $694, Reuters cited data from CoinGecko.
DevOps engineer’s laptop, North Korean firm & $6 bn wiped off: How Binance’s hack happened
Binance announced in a post on X that its initial probe found the alleged security breach may have arisen from a hacked laptop of a DevOps engineer, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. Around $3 billion in cryptocurrency assets was frozen and Binance pledged to cover all losses. It also temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals, revoked the affected address authorization and enlisted law enforcement and blockchain intelligence firms to trace and recover funds.Crypto TrackerTOP COINS (₹) Tether95 (-0.19%)Bitcoin7,457,979 (-1.94%)XRP119 (-2.75%)Ethereum213,580 (-2.79%)BNB67,709 (-5.18%)Also read |Binance flags 'potential security issue,' says approximately $6.3 billion impacted
US blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, meanwhile, said North Korean hackers may be behind a $6.3 billion security hack on Binance. "An attacker moved approximately $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, most of it in about 20 minutes," TRM Labs said in a blog post on its website.
TRM said several features of the latest hack on Binance matches with the earlier North Korea-linked heists, including the Bybit hack and the KelpDAO hack in April 2026. This include small Tornado Cash withdrawals funding an operator wallet, staging that began well before the theft, and signatures obtained in advance then executed in one burst.
What should investors do?
The crypto market is plunging primarily into a major security scare involving Binance, with an estimated impact of approximately $6.3 billion, said CoinDCX Research Team. It noted that the platform had suspended deposits and withdrawals while investigating and assured users that their funds are safe. “This triggers total liquidations of over $1.51 billion, with the long accounting door $1.28 billion. The hack likely stemmed from a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, with no sign of a private key, while the hacker has finished dumping $158.25 million worth of altcoins. Besides, Arbitrum Security Council executes a transaction to freeze nearly $30.5 million from the Finance Binance exploit,” it noted.Bitcoin falling to a six-week low came as the reported security incident triggered fresh selling across the crypto market, said Vikram Subburaj, CEO at Giottus. He pointed out that the decline comes despite recent inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which suggests that institutional buying has not been strong enough to offset concerns over market security and weakening demand. Bitcoin’s immediate support is around $76,600, while resistance lies near $78,100.
Also read |Binance hacked? Tether, Circle freeze $2.38 billion, Ripple holds $200 million after world's largest cryptocurrency exchange probes security issue, claim reports
“Investors should avoid panic selling or aggressive dip-buying. Consider staggered entries, maintain modest position sizes and wait for Bitcoin to stabilise before increasing exposure,” the analyst said.
Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.
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