Polymarket pledges full refunds after alleged $2.7bn wallet theft

Blockchain analysts say attacker wallets allegedly received digital assets worth more than $5.5bn, according to Telesur.

The hit

Binance has frozen roughly $2.54bn in crypto assets after what founder Changpeng Zhao says looks like a hack, according to Telesur. Polymarket separately halted trading for nearly an hour after an alleged breach tied to a third-party tool, & has pledged to reimburse all verified user losses.

Why it matters

Both platforms are racing to show they can absorb a breach without losing user trust. For traders, the freeze & the payout are the test: if Binance can’t account for funds or Polymarket’s pledge stalls, confidence in platform security takes the bigger hit than the theft itself.

The record

Binance frozen so far	$2.54bn in assets (Binance)
Attacker wallets allegedly received	over $5.5bn, could exceed $5.7bn (later disclosures)
Polymarket alleged theft	$2.65bn-$2.7bn from user wallets (reports)
Market liquidations	nearly $600m across exchanges in one hour (reports)
Bitcoin price move	fell below $80,000 (reports)

What happens next

Watch for Binance’s verified disclosure on the breach’s scope & whether Polymarket’s UK notification leads to a formal probe into the alleged DebugBear vulnerability.

Sources: Binance and Polymarket are investigating potential hacks

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