On Thursday 29 October 2026, at about 23:05 Mecca time, attackers drained about $6.3 billion from Binance's hot wallets — the largest crypto theft on record. Binance paused withdrawals but kept trading and deposits open, and says users will not lose money: by 31 October it had replaced 90% of the stolen coins with its own funds. Bitcoin dipped and steadied; on our MT5 feed it trades at $77,627.46 (+0.86% in 24 hours).
What happened
The attack began at about 23:05 Mecca time on Thursday 29 October. In roughly twenty minutes most of the money left Binance hot wallets on ten blockchains: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tron, the XRP Ledger, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Avalanche and Polygon. The haul included about 18,270 BTC, large amounts of ETH and XRP, and several billion dollars of USDT and USDC stablecoins.
Binance says no wallet private keys leaked. Its first explanation pointed to an engineer's compromised laptop that gave the attacker a way to submit withdrawals; it later said it had found additional points of breach, and the full technical report is still pending. Blockchain analysts link the attack to a North Korea-linked hacking group; Binance has not named the attacker. All times on this page are Mecca time.
The theft starts. Hot wallets on ten chains are drained, most within about 20 minutes.
Stablecoin issuers freeze stolen tokens: about $3 billion is frozen within hours.
Binance pauses withdrawals as a precaution. Trading and deposits keep running.
First official update: about $6.3 billion affected, users' funds safe, all losses to be covered by Binance.
Second update: more than $6.34 billion set aside; about 80% of the loss already covered.
Third update: 90% covered; ten major tokens, including BTC, ETH, USDT and BNB, declared 100% backed.
Withdrawals are due to restart in phases. No exact time has been announced.
The full zero-knowledge proof of reserves is expected, so users can check the backing themselves.
Did Binance get the money back?
No, and this is where many headlines mislead. The 90% figure is the share of the loss Binance has replaced with its own money: about $5 billion it already held in the same tokens, plus coins bought on the market and over the counter. The money comes from its SAFU emergency fund, part of its futures insurance fund and its company treasury.
What was actually stopped are the freezes: token issuers locked about $3 billion of stolen stablecoins, and one network forced about $30 million out of the attacker's wallet. The attacker still controls an estimated $2.4–3.3 billion in ETH and BTC, which nobody can freeze.
Is money on Binance safe?
Binance says users will not bear any loss and that the ten largest tokens are fully backed in its 31 October snapshot. Until the independent zero-knowledge proof is published, expected on Tuesday 3 November, that is the exchange's own statement. For anyone affected:
- Withdrawals are paused until the phased restart planned for Sunday 1 November; deposits and trading continued.
- Ignore "fund recovery" offers on WhatsApp, Telegram or social media: hacks like this are followed by waves of scams.
- Use official channels only for updates, and never share passwords, 2FA codes or seed phrases.
- Avoid panic decisions on price moves made in thin, nervous markets.
How Bitcoin and crypto reacted
For the biggest theft in crypto history, the market stayed calm. Bitcoin fell about 5% at the worst point on Friday and then steadied, and US spot bitcoin funds saw about $643 million of outflows on Friday 30 October. Ether and BNB fell harder at their lows, by about 7% and 9%.
On our MT5 feed Bitcoin is at $77,627.46: −2.96% over five days, in a range of $76,286.68–$81,935.38. The selling came on a wider risk-off Friday, when gold, silver and US tech stocks fell together.
Bitcoin, Ether and BNB side by side over the same five days:
What to watch next
- Sunday 1 November: the phased restart of withdrawals. A smooth restart would remove the main source of nervousness.
- Tuesday 3 November: the full proof of reserves, the first independent check of the "fully backed" claim.
- The technical report: how the attacker got in, and whether other platforms need to tighten their security.
- The stolen ETH and BTC: large transfers by the attacker can move prices for hours.
- Washington: the head of the US derivatives regulator (CFTC) said the breach supports his push to register crypto exchanges, and lawmakers are calling for tougher standards.
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Common questions
How much was stolen in the Binance hack?
About $6.3 billion, according to Binance, taken from its hot wallets on ten blockchains on Thursday 29 October 2026. It is the largest crypto theft on record.
Did Binance recover 90% of the stolen money?
No. Binance replaced 90% of the loss with its own funds; the stolen coins were not taken back. About $3 billion of stolen stablecoins was frozen by their issuers.
Can I withdraw from Binance now?
Withdrawals were paused late on 29 October. Binance says they will restart in phases on Sunday 1 November; trading and deposits kept running.
Will Binance users lose money?
Binance says no: it is covering the whole loss from its emergency fund, an insurance fund and its company treasury, and says the ten largest tokens are 100% backed. An independent proof is expected on Tuesday 3 November.
Who was behind the Binance hack?
Binance has not named the attacker. Blockchain analysts link it to a North Korea-linked hacking group, and US authorities are investigating.
How did Bitcoin react to the Binance hack?
It fell about 5% at the worst point and then steadied. On the TNFX MT5 feed Bitcoin is at $77,627.46 (+0.86% in 24 hours).