Cryptocurrency theft
It took hackers just $15 to unlock access to $2.5 billion, followed by a matter of seconds to move the entire sum, to pull off the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. That striking reality sits at the center of the historic cryptocurrency theft from Binance, where attackers leveraged an advanced Ethereum feature to siphon roughly 40% of their total haul in one single transaction. This incident was part of a broader, sophisticated cyberattack that drained an estimated $6.3 billion worth of digital assets from Binance, according to Bloomberg. The fast drain was caused by EIP-7702, an Ethereum improvement proposal introduced on May 7, 2025, during the network’s Pectra upgrade. Security analysts point out that EIP-7702 did not open the door on its own; the hackers had already infiltrated Binance’s systems and compromised its signing credentials. However, the feature allowed the attackers’ code to step directly into Binance 14’s shoes.
The FBI has tied the breach to North Korea.
Available for about 18 months, EIP-7702 was designed to streamline the user experience by giving standard crypto wallets programmable capabilities, like bundling multiple separate operations into a single step or allowing third parties to cover transaction fees. In everyday terms, it acts like appointing a concierge authorised to handle multiple errands without requiring sign-off on every task.