Binance Confirms $6.3bn Breach, Freezes $3bn
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has confirmed a Binance breach with an estimated impact of around $6.3 billion, and said about $3 billion in affected assets has been frozen. The company described the incident on Friday, October 30, 2026, as a “complex attack,” and said it was working with law enforcement to resolve it.
The confirmation is a major step beyond the first reports. The Binance suspected hack report recorded about $5.7 billion moving out of wallets linked to the exchange, based on on-chain trackers, while Binance itself had not yet confirmed how much, if anything, was stolen from customer funds. Now Binance has put its own figure on the incident: around $6.3 billion in total estimated impact, with about half frozen.
From a single laptop to a complex attack
Binance first said its initial investigation suggested the incident may have involved a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. That laptop, the company said, allowed an unauthorised party to access a service container and execute unauthorised withdrawal transactions. The company said it found no evidence of any private key leaks from wallets.
Its later investigation changed that picture. Binance said its subsequent investigation “uncovered additional points of breach,” contrary to the initial finding that suggested a single compromised laptop. In a message on X, the company wrote: “This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it.”
Binance also warned that the $6.3 billion figure “may continue to increase as our teams work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.” That warning matters, because the frozen total and the impact total are different numbers. About $3 billion has been frozen so far, which leaves roughly $3.3 billion still to be traced, frozen or recovered, on the company’s own figures.
How the Binance breach freeze was put together
The freeze was not the work of Binance alone. Stablecoin issuers moved quickly to block funds linked to the incident. Paolo Ardoino, the boss of Tether, which issues the USDT stablecoin, said his firm froze about $1.6 billion “related to a potential Binance exchange hack.” Jeremy Allaire, who runs Circle, which issues USDC, said his company had frozen more than $800 million in USDC.
Withdrawals, user funds and the SAFU fund
At about 0900 GMT on Friday, Binance said it was on track to resume withdrawals in 45 hours, after announcing earlier that all deposits and withdrawals had been “temporarily suspended.” It added: “Deposits remain unaffected.”
Who does Binance blame?
Blockchain investigation firm TRM Labs said on Thursday it had “high confidence” that the Binance hack was orchestrated by TraderTraitor, citing “robust on- and off-chain intelligence.” TRM said: “Several features of this attack match earlier North Korea-linked heists.” TraderTraitor is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking Sony Pictures.
What happens next
Three dates and numbers will decide how this story ends. First, the 45-hour withdrawal timeline: if withdrawals resume on schedule, confidence may recover. If they slip, pressure on Binance will grow. Second, the frozen total: if it rises well above $3 billion, the net loss will shrink. Third, the technical post-mortem Binance has promised: that report must explain the additional points of breach, and why the first investigation pointed to a single laptop.
The original report on this confirmation was published by Dawn.
How big is the Binance breach?
Binance puts the total estimated impact at around $6.3 billion, with about $3 billion in affected assets frozen so far. The company warns the figure may rise as tracing continues.
When will Binance withdrawals resume?
At about 0900 GMT on Friday, Binance said it was on track to resume withdrawals in 45 hours, after temporarily suspending deposits and withdrawals. Deposits remain unaffected.
Who froze the affected assets?
Tether froze about $1.6 billion, Circle froze more than $800 million, and Ripple froze roughly $200 million, alongside smaller freezes by World Liberty Financial and BitGo.
Will Binance cover user losses?
Binance says user funds are safe and that it will cover all hacking losses from its Secure Asset Fund for Users and company funds, with an updated Proof of Reserves to follow.
