Crypto Exchange Hacks & Security Incidents
The largest incident in our records is Binance's in October 2026 (~$6.3B). Across the 12 exchanges CoinArticle reviews, our sourced records list 11 security incidents at 8 of them, the most recent in October 2026.
Incident timeline
Binance · October 2026 · ~$6.3B
On Oct 29, 2026, attackers drained about $6.3B in crypto from Binance hot wallets, the largest crypto theft on record. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group.
Resolution: Binance said it would absorb the losses rather than pass them to users and had covered about 95% by Nov 2 (the remainder being less liquid tokens). Withdrawals, suspended during the incident, reopened in phases from Nov 1, 2026.
Source (retrieved 2026-11-03)Coinbase · October 2026
A security incident at Amplitude, a third-party analytics vendor, exposed contact data for a small subset of Coinbase customers; Coinbase did not say how many were affected.
Resolution: Coinbase said its own systems were not breached and customer funds were not impacted; it is notifying affected customers and regulators.
Source (retrieved 2026-11-03)Coinbase · May 2025
Attackers bribed overseas third-party support contractors to exfiltrate personal data (names, contact details, partial SSNs, ID images) of roughly 70,000 customers, then demanded a $20M ransom.
Resolution: Coinbase refused the ransom and posted a $20M bounty on the attackers; it estimated $180M-$400M in remediation and reimbursement costs in an SEC filing.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Bybit · February 2025 · ~$1.5B
On Feb 21, 2025, attackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group stole ~$1.5B in Ethereum from a Bybit cold wallet by compromising a third-party multisig signing interface (Safe UI) — then the largest crypto exploit on record, until Binance's October 2026 theft.
Resolution: Bybit publicly acknowledged the incident with a timeline and launched a Recovery Bounty Program offering 10% of recovered funds.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)KuCoin · January 2025 · ~$297M
Pleaded guilty to US DOJ charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business; ~$297M in criminal forfeiture and fines.
Resolution: Agreed to exit the US market for at least two years; founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang removed from management.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Kraken · June 2024 · ~$3.0M
Security researchers affiliated with CertiK exploited a balance-inflation bug reported via Kraken's bug bounty program and withdrew nearly $3M from Kraken's treasury, then demanded a reward before returning funds.
Resolution: Kraken patched the vulnerability within about an hour of the report; CertiK subsequently returned the funds (minus transaction fees). Funds came from Kraken's treasury, not client wallets.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Gemini · November 2022 · ~$1.1B
Gemini Earn withdrawals halted 2022-11-16 when lending partner Genesis Global Capital froze redemptions (~$1.1B owed to Earn users); not a hack of Gemini's exchange.
Resolution: Gemini announced (Feb 2024) a settlement returning 100% of Earn users' digital assets in kind; over $2B in crypto was distributed to about 232,000 users by mid-2024.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Crypto.com · January 2022 · ~$35.0M
Attackers bypassed 2FA and made unauthorized withdrawals of ~4,836 ETH and ~444 BTC (~$35M) from 483 user accounts.
Resolution: Crypto.com said all affected users were reimbursed; it revoked all 2FA tokens, forced re-login/2FA re-setup, and added security hardening.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)KuCoin · September 2020 · ~$281M
Hot-wallet private keys compromised; about $281M in crypto drained, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group.
Resolution: KuCoin said stolen assets were recovered or covered by insurance; deposits/withdrawals for all tokens resumed by Nov 2020.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Binance · May 2019 · ~$40.7M
Hackers withdrew 7,000 BTC (~$40.7M) from a Binance hot wallet in one transaction after obtaining user API keys and 2FA codes via phishing and other attacks.
Resolution: Binance covered the loss in full from its SAFU emergency fund; no user funds were affected. Withdrawals suspended about a week during a security overhaul.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)Bitstamp · January 2015 · ~$5.3M
18,866 BTC (~$5.26M) stolen from hot wallet after a weeks-long phishing campaign compromised a sysadmin's machine and the wallet.dat file.
Resolution: Cold storage was unaffected; Bitstamp rebuilt its platform from secure backups, hired Stroz Friedberg for forensics, and moved to multi-signature wallets with cold storage.
Source (retrieved 2026-08-10)
No major incidents on record
Our sourced records list no major security incident for Bitvavo, Gate, MEXC and OKX.
Absence of a listed incident is not a guarantee — we only record incidents we can verify.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest hack at a major crypto exchange?
Among the exchanges we review, the largest incident on record is Binance's in October 2026 (~$6.3B). On Oct 29, 2026, attackers drained about $6.3B in crypto from Binance hot wallets, the largest crypto theft on record. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group.
Which major crypto exchanges have no recorded hacks?
Of the 12 exchanges we review, our sourced records list no major security incident for Bitvavo, Gate, MEXC and OKX. Absence of a listed incident is not a guarantee: we only record incidents we can verify.
When was the most recent crypto exchange security incident?
The most recent incidents in our records are from October 2026. Binance: On Oct 29, 2026, attackers drained about $6.3B in crypto from Binance hot wallets, the largest crypto theft on record. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Coinbase: A security incident at Amplitude, a third-party analytics vendor, exposed contact data for a small subset of Coinbase customers; Coinbase did not say how many were affected.
Methodology
This page covers the 12 exchanges in our exchange reviews, not every exchange. Each incident is recorded with a source, the date we retrieved it, and how the exchange resolved it; the same records appear on each exchange's review page.
Incidents include thefts from exchange wallets, customer-data breaches, frozen lending products and regulatory penalties, so the amounts are not comparable losses and we do not add them up. Amounts are approximate and in US dollars at the time of the incident.
Records last updated Nov 3, 2026.
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