Major stablecoin issuers have frozen billions of dollars in digital currency following an urgent security investigation announced by cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Binance disclosed on Thursday that its teams were actively reviewing a potential security issue after unusually large transfers on the platform alerted traders. While the world's largest crypto exchange by volume assured users that all customer funds remained safe, stablecoin companies quickly moved to contain any potential damage.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on social media that the company froze more than $1.567 billion worth of its digital currency linked to the suspected incident. Simultaneously, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire confirmed that his firm had frozen over $800 million in USDC in coordination with law enforcement. Additionally, Binance co-founder Yi He stated that Ripple had frozen roughly $200 million.
Changpeng Zhao, the exchange's founder, stated on social media that the situation appeared to involve a hack and expressed expectation that all user funds would be covered. Meanwhile, Binance.US reported that its separate platform was not impacted by the security event, and issuers continue to cooperate with ongoing investigations.
