Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, was hit on Thursday, October 29, 2026, by a suspected exploit that blockchain analysts say drained more than $5.7 billion in crypto assets. If that total is confirmed, it would be the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, far surpassing the previous record of roughly $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit exchange in February 2025.
Binance has said it is investigating a potential security issue, and its co-chief executive Yi He said the platform would cover all hacking losses and that user funds are safe. At the same time, stablecoin issuers moved quickly to freeze billions of dollars in stolen assets, while bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies slid sharply on the news.
Key Takeaways
- Blockchain analysts put the crypto drained from Binance at more than $5.7 billion, which would make it the largest crypto theft on record.
- Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle froze more than $2.3 billion combined, and Binance later said $3 billion in assets had been frozen in total.
- Bitcoin fell below $79,000 and ether dropped sharply, while Binance said it would cover customer losses and resume withdrawals once its security checks are complete.
What Happened
According to CoinDesk, which cited data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham, the wallets linked to the exploit held more than $5.7 billion in various cryptocurrencies, including nearly $1.5 billion in bitcoin and $900 million in ether. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis later updated its estimate of the amount stolen to roughly $5.9 billion at the time of the theft, while other reports put the figure in a range between about $2 billion and $5.8 billion. The exact final total is still being confirmed, and figures have moved as analysts trace the stolen funds.
A forensic analysis by security firm Blockaid, cited in reports of the incident, found that the attacker targeted two Binance hot wallets known as “Binance 14” and “Binance 16”. The stolen assets were then moved through decentralised trading and lending platforms, and in one case the attacker borrowed at least 20,000 wrapped ether, worth around $44 million, through the decentralised lender Aave using stolen USDT as collateral.
The incident was the second crypto security incident reported on the same day, after prediction market provider Polymarket said one of its third-party providers had been breached.
How Much Was Frozen
Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than $1.56 billion in USDT linked to the incident, while Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire said Circle froze more than $800 million in USDC. Together, those freezes alone topped $2.3 billion. Binance said on Thursday that it had frozen $3 billion in crypto assets in total as it worked with law enforcement agencies, token issuers and blockchain intelligence firms to trace and freeze more, and that the frozen amount could still increase.
The speed of the freezes, and the size of the sums involved, show how much of the crypto market now runs through a handful of exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
The speed of the freezes, and the size of the sums involved, show how much of the crypto market now runs through a handful of exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
Market Reaction
Crypto prices fell sharply as news of the exploit spread. Bitcoin dropped 4.8 percent to below $77,000 at one point on Thursday, according to CoinDesk, and in early Asian trading on Friday it was down about 2 percent at a six-week low of $77,646. Ether fell 5.7 percent on Thursday and was later down around 2 percent at a two-month low of $2,238.76. BNB, the token originally launched as Binance Coin, was down more than 8 percent over 24 hours at $694, according to market aggregator CoinGecko.
The sell-off spread beyond crypto itself. Shares in rival exchange Coinbase slid 4.8 percent in extended trading, while shares in bitcoin buyer Strategy fell nearly 6 percent, and the broader market sell-off added to a nervous day for technology stocks. One market report put the total crypto market capitalisation down 3.13 percent at $2.63 trillion in the immediate aftermath of the news.
Bitcoin’s sharp move is a reminder of how quickly sentiment can turn in crypto markets, even for the world’s best-known digital asset. Readers who want background on how bitcoin became legal tender in one country can read our guide on why El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender, and our explainer on why the Bahamas launched the Sand Dollar digital currency.
Who Investigators Suspect
Independent investigator ZachXBT and security firm Blockaid said North Korea was likely behind the hack, according to CoinDesk, and reports of the attack’s anatomy pointed to a hot wallet key compromise similar to one that recently affected the Bitget exchange. That attribution has not been confirmed by Binance or by law enforcement, and the investigation is continuing. Binance has said it is conducting security checks and will resume withdrawals once the issue is fully resolved.
- More than $5.7 billion in crypto was reported stolen from Binance, according to Arkham data cited by CoinDesk.
- Tether froze more than $1.56 billion in USDT and Circle froze more than $800 million in USDC.
- Binance later said $3 billion in crypto assets had been frozen in total, with more tracing under way.
- Bitcoin fell below $79,000 and ether dropped to a two-month low as markets reacted.
- Binance co-chief executive Yi He said the platform would cover all hacking losses.
What to Watch Next
What happens next depends on the investigation Binance has already described: its security checks, the final confirmed total of what was taken, and whether the frozen share of the stolen assets grows as tracing continues. Traders will also watch whether withdrawals resume once Binance says the issue is fully resolved, whether law enforcement confirms who was behind the attack, and whether bitcoin and ether recover from their sharp falls or slide further as more details emerge.