Bitcoin fell below $79,000 on Thursday as reports of a suspected multibillion-dollar hack at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, rippled through markets.

The selloff followed reports of heavy outflows from Binance-linked wallets. Some social media reports cited suspicious outflows of up to $5.8 billion, pointing to on-chain data showing roughly $3.55 billion in incoming transfers to an unlabeled wallet. Conor Grogan, a senior director at Coinbase, put the figure at $5.8 billion.

Stablecoin issuers moved to freeze funds. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than 1.567 billion USDT, while Circle froze about $823 million in USDC, according to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who remains a shareholder. Combined freezes range from $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion depending on the report.

"Protecting the industry and our partners is our main priority," Ardoino said.

Binance has made no official confirmation of a breach. Co-founder Yi He wrote on X that the company is aware of reports of a potential security issue and that its security teams are reviewing all relevant information.

"We are aware of reports of a potential security issue and we are actively investigating…our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information. Users should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information," she wrote.

Zhao, Binance's former CEO, wrote that in his view the exchange appears to have been hacked and that he expects all user funds to be covered.

"I don't manage Binance anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered," Zhao posted on X.

Blockchain researcher Spreek flagged the activity, which reportedly included a transfer through a contract call allegedly funded by Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer designed to obscure the trail of funds. Security firm Blockaid said it is investigating $3.3 billion in suspicious outflows from Binance hot wallets across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Avalanche.

If confirmed, the incident would be the largest crypto theft on record, surpassing the February 2025 Bybit hack of roughly $1.5 billion. Aave reportedly froze lending markets to block the suspected attacker from borrowing, while Binance.US said the incident does not affect its platform. The breadth of that response shows how a suspected exchange breach now draws in stablecoin issuers, lending platforms, and security researchers simultaneously.

Figures remain fluid. One estimate puts the realized loss near 0.7% of Binance customer assets, and other reports continue to revise totals. Neither Binance nor law enforcement has released a formal account of the cause. Binance's own messaging points to verified updates through official channels, making any formal disclosure of the cause the next marker for establishing the true scale of the loss.

Bybit said in a post on X that it was not affected, adding that its "systems are operating normally, trading and withdrawals remain available, and user assets remain secure."

Bitcoin price drops under $79,000 after Binance hack jitters

Bitcoin is trading at $78,800, down 2.89% (about $2,350) over the past 24 hours. The price hit a 24-hour high of $81,890 around midday before sliding sharply after 4 p.m. ET, when it fell to a low of $78,177.37, after rumors of the hack circulated.

Trading volume over the period was about $26.14 billion, and bitcoin's market cap stands at roughly $1.58 trillion.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.