Binance Halts Blockchain After £5.2 Billion Cyber Heist

Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, halted its proprietary blockchain, the Binance Smart Chain, after a significant cyberattack resulted in the theft of an estimated £5.2 billion in digital currencies. The unprecedented scale of the breach saw hackers exploit a vulnerability to mint new BNB tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the Binance ecosystem.

Company officials confirmed that the attackers managed to compromise a cross-chain bridge, a critical component enabling transfers between different blockchains. This allowed the perpetrators to illegally generate and withdraw a substantial volume of BNB. Following the discovery, Binance moved swiftly to pause all transactions on the Smart Chain, a measure they claim prevented further losses.

While Binance has stated that most of the stolen funds remain within their control, the incident underscores the persistent security challenges facing the decentralised finance (DeFi) sector. Authorities and cybersecurity experts are now analysing the intricate methods employed by the attackers in what stands as one of the largest cryptocurrency heists in history.