Binance has frozen digital assets worth more than $2.5bn (around £1.87bn) to prevent their theft while it investigates a security issue. The company stated that all deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while its teams conduct security checks.
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. In a statement, it said it would "cover all losses" and that user funds are safe. The firm added that the amount of frozen assets could continue to increase as its teams work closely with law enforcement and other partners to track and seize additional assets.
Changpeng Zhao, the former head of Binance who remains the company's majority shareholder, said: "It looks like a hack of Binance." He added that two other crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, had also frozen around $1.7bn of stolen assets.
Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire stated that the company was "closely monitoring reports of potential exploitation linked to Binance". According to him, Circle had frozen more than $800m in assets linked to the incident. Circle is the issuer and co-founder of USDC, one of the world's largest US dollar-backed cryptocurrencies. Tether did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
Binance said it was working around the clock and would share a full analysis once the investigation is complete. "Please rely only on official Binance channels for updates", the company stated.
