Binance hacked? Tether, Circle freeze USD 2.38 billion, Ripple holds USD 200 million after world's largest cryptocurrency exchange probes security issue, claim reports

Binance has said that its teams were reviewing all relevant information with urgency and added that user funds were safe. Circle and Tether froze over $2.38 billion in stablecoin currency after the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a post on X that it was actively investigating a potential security issue, according to multiple news outlets.

Crypto firm Ripple had frozen roughly $200 million, Binance co-founder Yi He said on X. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer manages the company, wrote on X that the incident "looked like a hack".

What has Happened?


Tether, which issues the world's largest stablecoin, said it froze nearly $1.57 billion related to the hack, with Circle freezing over $800 million. Circle, another stablecoin issuer, is closely tracking reports of a potential exploit involving Binance, its co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire wrote in a post on X, adding that it will continue supporting the investigation, Reuters reported.

Binance has over 335 million registered global users, according to its website. Crypto exchanges such as Binance are platforms where people buy, sell or trade digital assets.

Binance.US, a separate cryptocurrency exchange, said it was not affected by the security incident.

Earlier on Thursday, Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global reported a quarterly profit, snapping a three-quarter streak of losses, as heightened volatility in digital asset markets boosted trading. The company reported a profit of $718.7 million, or $2.51 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, compared with $432.6 million, or $1.50 per share, a year earlier.

Crypto Industry Spending on US midterm election 2026

The crypto industry has spent roughly $176 million across more than 100 midterm races this election cycle, as part of a years-long plan to build a bipartisan coalition of allies in Congress that can advance its interests long after US President Donald Trump leaves office.

The $2.75 trillion industry, and the billionaires who built it, are aggressively spending to elect friendly candidates while targeting politicians they see as a threat, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen crypto political strategists and a Reuters review of the spending.

While the industry’s recent spending blitz is known, its long-term plan to further its legislative agenda is less well-understood. The industry isn’t just looking for allies; it is trying to pick candidates who already have a chance of winning, and can help once they get to Congress, the strategists said.

Crypto's largest super political action committee, Fairshake, which spent $196 million during the 2024 election cycle, is leading the industry’s strategy again. Fairshake said 53 of the 58 candidates it supported in primaries or special elections this year won and will be on the ballot on November 3.

Super PACs can accept and spend unlimited sums of money, but cannot coordinate directly with campaigns. They are flooding several races with tens of millions of dollars in ads.