BTCUSD: Bitcoin Slides Below $77,000 After $6.3 Billion Binance Breach Shakes Crypto

Crypto exchange estimates a $6.3 billion impact, suspends deposits and withdrawals and pledges to cover losses while investigators trace the funds.

📉 Bitcoin falls, selling spreads across crypto

• Bitcoin BTCUSD slipped below $77,000 early Friday, extending its decline on news of a security incident on Binance.
• Ether and BNB joined the retreat. Ether initially fell to a two-month low near $2,239 before extending losses toward $2,186. BNB, the token used for fees and other functions across Binance’s ecosystem, dropped more than 8% over 24 hours to around $690 in early reporting.
• The reaction reached US-listed crypto stocks, with Coinbase falling 4.8% and Bitcoin holder Strategy losing nearly 6% in extended trading. Coinbase said it was unaffected by the incident, underscoring how concerns at one major exchange can weigh on companies across the sector.

🔐 Binance freezes funds and investigates

• Binance estimates the incident’s total impact at $6.3 billion, the largest crypto hack ever, according to some, with around $3 billion in affected assets frozen through blockchain partners.
• The initial investigation points to a compromised engineer’s laptop. Binance said an attacker may have used that access to submit unauthorized withdrawals, adding that it had found no evidence of leaked wallet private keys.
• Deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended during security checks. Binance pledged to cover losses through its emergency user-protection fund and company resources, and said it would publish updated proof of reserves after remediation.

🔎 Recovery updates become the next catalyst

• Stablecoin issuers helped restrict the movement of affected funds. Tether reported freezing nearly $1.6 billion, while Circle froze more than $800 million.
• The breach arrived during a broader retreat from technology risk. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped as much as 2% overnight after Amazon and Intel earnings disappointed investors.
• That leaves Bitcoin facing an exchange-specific shock while sentiment toward other speculative assets is already under pressure.