Binance Helps Stop $1.2M Governance Attack in Under 48 Hours

Binance said its monitoring team detected a malicious DAO proposal, warned the unnamed project and coordinated deposit closures with exchanges before a vote blocked access to roughly $1.2 million in treasury tokens.

Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su described the response as an example of security extending across the cryptocurrency ecosystem:

“This case demonstrates what security by design looks like, extending beyond our own walls. Our team and systems identified a threat that no external security provider had flagged and moved proactively to protect ecosystem users.”

With less than 48 hours remaining before execution, Binance contacted the project and coordinated with centralized exchanges listing the token to close deposits. The project then voted against the proposal, stopping it before execution. Binance did not identify the project or affected token.

Su said the incident demonstrated how governance weaknesses can expose users without relying on a conventional code exploit: “This malicious proposal also highlights the importance of protecting people, not just platforms.” He added:

“The biggest risks in crypto today increasingly target people, access, and behaviors rather than code vulnerabilities. In this case, the attack stemmed from an underlying governance vulnerability.”