Binance Probes Potential Security Breach as Tether and Circle Freeze $2.3 Billion; Bitcoin Falls 3.2%

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said Thursday it is investigating reports of a potential security incident after its founder said the event "does look like a hack on Binance," prompting stablecoin issuers to freeze more than $2.3 billion in related funds. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said on X the company froze more than an equivalent of $800 million "in coordination with law enforcement." Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion tied to "a potential Binance exchange hack." The extent of any losses was not immediately clear, and Binance had not explicitly confirmed that funds were stolen. A spokesperson said user funds are "completely safe" and that security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency. Bitcoin fell 3.2% Thursday afternoon to under $79,000.