Binance says hackers stole more than $6bn in 20 minutes; deposits and withdrawals on hold

It took about 20 minutes to steal more than $6 billion in one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history from Binance, the world’s largest exchange. The company says the attack involved multiple security breaches and a self-destruct mechanism to make the hackers harder to track. Deposits and withdrawals are on hold as Binance rebuilds its system. US analytics firm TRM says it is confident North Korean state-sponsored hackers carried out the heist. If true, it would not be the first time: the FBI says North Korea stole $1.5 bn from a crypto network Bybut in 2025, and British firm Elliptic says hackers linked to Pyongyang also took $1.5 bn from a Dubai-based exchange last year. Al Jazeera’s Imogen Kimber reports. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://x.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #AlJazeeraEnglish #Binance #Crypto #Hack #Cryptocurrency #NorthKorea #News