Binance, Exchanges

Why Is Binance Frozen?

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has been “temporarily” frozen following a hack that saw 7,000 bitcoin (BTC) stolen from its hot wallet.

The hack was first noticed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Twitter, who said that the exchange had experienced a “large scale security breach” and that it would be “fully cooperating” with law enforcement.

According to a later update from Binance, the hackers had used a variety of methods to gain access to a number of user accounts and then used those accounts to withdraw 7,000 BTC from the exchange’s hot wallet. The withdrawals were made to a single bitcoin address and Binance is currently working to track down the funds.

NOTE: WARNING: Binance has been known to freeze user accounts due to suspected malicious activities. If your account is frozen, it is important to contact Binance Customer Support immediately to investigate the issue and resolve it. Additionally, you should double check any recent actions you have taken (such as large withdrawals or deposits) that could have triggered the freeze. Be sure to provide as much detail as possible when contacting support so that they can help you quickly and efficiently.

The exchange has since moved all of its remaining BTC funds to cold storage and has halted all withdrawals and deposits while it investigates the matter further. It is also working on creating a new security system that will be implemented before withdrawals and deposits are resumed.

At the time of writing, it is still unclear how exactly the hackers were able to gain access to user accounts or how they were able to withdraw the funds without being detected. Binance has said that it will provide updates as it learns more.

This is not the first time that Binance has been hacked, as the exchange was also Targeted in a phishing attack in 2018 that saw hackers steal over $40 million worth of bitcoin. However, this is by far the largest hack that Binance has suffered and is likely to have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market.

The news of the hack caused the prices of many major cryptocurrencies to drop sharply, with bitcoin falling over 5% in the hours after the news broke. The hack also highlights once again the importance of storing cryptocurrencies in secure wallets, rather than on exchanges which can be vulnerable to attack.

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