The BNB Chain — the blockchain operated by the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance Global Inc. — has suspended operation as developers have identified a potential exploit on the network, according to an official Binance Twitter account.
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Fast facts
- Blockchain security and data analytics company Peckshield Inc. tweeted on-chain analytics that suggested the network had suffered an exploit with hackers making off with roughly two million BNB, the native token of the chain, worth US$572 million.
- The extent of the hack and when the network will be running again are not currently known. Binance has not commented directly on the loss reported by Peckshield.
- The issue arose on a cross-chain bridge, BSC Token Hub, which resulted in an extra BNB token being created, Binance founder and chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao, confirmed via Twitter.
- Zhao said all funds are safe and that the issue is now contained.
- BNB was trading down 2.9% to US$286 in the past 24 hours to 8:30 a.m. in Hong Kong.
- Cross-chain bridges allow for cryptocurrencies to be moved from one blockchain to another, but are considered to be highly vulnerable to exploits.
- (Corrects reference to BNB Chain from Binance Smart Chain in headline, first paragraph.)
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