Kathmandu: The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has reportedly suffered a massive cyberattack, resulting in the theft of approximately $5.7 billion to $6.3 billion from users’ wallets. According to news agencies, hackers gained unauthorized access to Binance’s servers by hacking the laptop of a senior DevOps engineer. However, the company stated that its wallet private keys remained secure.
Following the incident, Binance temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals and launched an investigation. With cooperation from major stablecoin companies such as Tether and Circle, approximately $3 billion worth of stolen crypto assets has reportedly been frozen.
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao assured users that their funds are safe and promised full compensation through the company’s emergency reserve fund and balance sheet.
Meanwhile, prediction market platform Polymarket also suffered a cyberattack, resulting in the theft of at least $2.7 million. A series of major cyberattacks, data breaches and AI-related software vulnerabilities throughout October have led the technology industry to describe the month as ‘Black October.’
