Binance hit by suspected multi-billion-dollar hack: withdrawals paused on several networks as Tether and Circle freeze about $2.5 billion
Billions in crypto left Binance hot wallets on Thursday; Tether and Circle froze about $2.5 billion, and bitcoin fell below $79,000.
At a glance
- Large amounts of cryptocurrency left Binance's hot wallets on Thursday evening, October 29, 2026; blockchain trackers put the outflow anywhere from about $2.8 billion to almost $6 billion.
- Tether froze more than $1.5 billion of USDT and Circle more than $800 million of USDC linked to the suspected attack; Binance put the verified total frozen at $2.54 billion.
- Binance said it was investigating 'a potential security issue', paused withdrawals on several networks as a precaution and said user funds were safe.
- Bitcoin fell below $79,000 and roughly $600 million of leveraged positions were liquidated in about an hour.
- If the losses are confirmed, it would be the largest theft from a crypto exchange on record, ahead of the roughly $1.5 billion taken from Bybit in February 2025.
Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is investigating what appears to be one of the largest thefts in crypto history. Billions of dollars in digital assets left its hot wallets late on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The two biggest stablecoin issuers froze about $2.5 billion of linked funds within hours, and the exchange paused withdrawals on several networks.
Binance has not given a loss figure. Its first statement said its teams were "aware of reports of a potential security issue" and that user funds were safe. Later it confirmed it had temporarily suspended withdrawals on several networks "following a security incident" as a precaution. Changpeng Zhao, the founder who no longer runs the company, was blunter: he said it does look like a hack on Binance.
How much left the exchange
Nobody outside Binance knows the exact figure yet, and the estimates are far apart. Blockchain analysts say one hot wallet, the internet-connected wallet an exchange uses for day-to-day withdrawals, was emptied in a single transaction at about 20:24 UTC (01:24 am Pakistan time on Friday). Addresses that received the money were quickly labelled "Binance Hot Wallet Exploiter" on the Etherscan block explorer.
| Measure | Figure reported so far |
|---|---|
| Crypto moved out of Binance hot wallets | about $2.8 billion to nearly $6 billion (estimates vary) |
| USDT frozen by Tether | more than $1.5 billion |
| USDC frozen by Circle | more than $800 million |
| Total frozen, according to Binance | $2.54 billion |
| Bitcoin low on Thursday night | about $78,300 |
| Leveraged positions liquidated | roughly $600 million in about an hour |
Some trackers split the outflow into roughly $3.8 billion on Ethereum and $1.4 billion on the Bitcoin network. These figures have not been confirmed by Binance, and analysts warned the movement of funds could still be continuing.
Tether and Circle step in
The quickest response came from the companies behind the two dollar-pegged stablecoins. Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than $1.5 billion of USDT "related to a potential Binance exchange hack". Circle's Jeremy Allaire said his firm froze more than $800 million of USDC.
Freezing does not return money to anyone, but it stops the attacker from spending or swapping those tokens. Unlike bitcoin or ether, stablecoins can be blocked by their issuers, which is why the stolen stablecoins are the part most likely to be recovered. Binance later said "the current verified total frozen is $2.54 billion".
What is open and what is paused
Status trackers showed bitcoin and ether withdrawals still working early on Friday. Paused were withdrawals on Solana and the XRP Ledger, plus USDT and USDC on several networks including Solana, Optimism, Avalanche and NEAR, and USDT on Polygon. For most of these, the exchange gave "wallet maintenance" as the reason.
Two days earlier, on October 27, Binance had said it fought off several cyberattacks linked to North Korea without losing any assets. Nobody has said who is behind Thursday's incident, and Binance has not said whether the attackers have contacted it.
How it compares with past crypto heists
| Incident | Year | Amount taken |
|---|---|---|
| Binance (suspected, unconfirmed) | 2026 | about $2.8bn–$6bn |
| Bybit | 2025 | about $1.5bn |
| Ronin bridge (Axie Infinity) | 2022 | about $625m |
| Poly Network | 2021 | about $611m |
| BNB Chain bridge (Binance) | 2022 | about $570m |
If even the lowest estimate is confirmed, it would be the biggest theft from an exchange on record, almost double the Bybit hack that US authorities blamed on North Korea's Lazarus group.
Market shock
Crypto prices were already weak after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates on Wednesday and a sell-off in technology shares, led by Alphabet, on Thursday. The Binance news made it worse. Bitcoin dropped under $79,000 for the first time in weeks, Solana briefly touched $95 and the exchange's own BNB token fell sharply. Nearly $1 billion of leveraged trades were wiped out over 24 hours, most of them bets on rising prices.
What it means for Binance users
Binance has tens of millions of users, including a large number in Pakistan, India and the Gulf, where it is one of the most used ways to buy crypto. For now:
- Check withdrawals only in the official app or website and Binance's verified social accounts. Scammers often send fake "recovery" or "verify your wallet" links after a hack.
- Do not share your seed phrase, password or 2FA codes with anyone claiming to be support staff.
- Expect delays on paused networks. Bitcoin and ether withdrawals were working at the time of writing.
- Binance runs an emergency insurance fund, SAFU, which it used in past incidents to cover user losses. It has not yet said whether it will draw on it.
Binance is expected to give a fuller account once its investigation finishes, including the confirmed loss and whether customer balances were affected. Investigators and blockchain firms are tracing the funds, and more of the stolen assets could be frozen as the attackers try to move them through exchanges.
Questions people are asking
Was Binance hacked on October 29, 2026?
Binance has confirmed a 'security incident' and is investigating, but had not formally called it a hack or given a loss figure by early Friday. Its founder Changpeng Zhao said it does look like a hack, and blockchain data show billions of dollars leaving its hot wallets.
Are Binance user funds safe and can I withdraw?
Binance says user funds are safe. Bitcoin and Ether withdrawals stayed open, while withdrawals on several networks, including Solana, XRP and some stablecoin networks, were temporarily paused.
