Crypto Scammers Steal $100m From Binance

Scammers have stolen $100 million in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world’s biggest exchange for cryptoassets, the firm revealed on Friday.

Company chief Changpeng Zhao posted on Twitter that “an exploit” in the system led to extra production of the exchange’s dedicated currency, adding that: “The current impact estimate is around $100m.”

He said, “The issue is contained now. Your funds are safe. We apologise for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly”.

This is part of the biggest thefts in cryptocurrency history, although it is still dwarfed by the mammoth heist of more than $500 million from the Axie Infinity blockchain game earlier this year.

Scammers are increasingly using weaknesses in “cross-chain bridges”; the means used by investors to steal assets from one blockchain to another.

The exchange said on Reddit that the amount stolen was between $100 and $110 million, adding that $7 million had already been recovered.