Binance Suspected Hack: Billions Leave Hot Wallets, Withdrawals Paused

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Developing story. Last updated October 30, 2026, 00:30 UTC.

Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, appears to have been hacked. On the evening of October 29, billions of dollars in crypto flowed out of wallets that blockchain trackers identify as Binance hot wallets. Binance has paused withdrawals on several networks and says it is investigating, while founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said it "does look like a hack". Here's what is confirmed so far, and what isn't.

Update: CZ says "will cover", more stablecoins frozen

• CZ on covering losses: replying on X, Changpeng Zhao wrote: "Loss might be a bit higher than that, but will cover."
• Ripple said it is freezing the attackers' RLUSD holdings, according to a post by Ripple's Jack McDonald.
• USD1 said it froze about $27 million in USD1 linked to the hack.
• Crypto news account Watcher.Guru reported more than $5.6 billion stolen across BTC, ETH, TRX, stablecoins and other tokens. Binance itself still hasn't confirmed a total.

What's confirmed

• Withdrawals paused: Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals on multiple networks after a "security incident", as a precaution, according to TechCrunch.
• Binance's statement: the exchange says its teams are investigating and that user funds are safe. It has not yet confirmed a breach, the cause or the amount lost.
• CZ's comment: Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs Binance but is its largest shareholder, said on X that the activity looks like a hack on Binance and that he expects all user funds to be fully covered.
• Stablecoins frozen: Tether and Circle froze large amounts of USDT and USDC linked to the incident. Early reports put the total at about $1.8 billion, and later reports at up to $2.4 billion.

What isn't confirmed yet

• How much was taken: estimates range from about $2.5 billion to $5.8 billion. Some of the bigger numbers count outflows on other blockchains that haven't been tied to the attacker, so treat every figure as unverified until Binance publishes its own.
• How it happened: no official cause yet.
• Who covers the losses: Binance has an emergency insurance fund called SAFU, but hasn't said whether it will use it.

If the losses are confirmed in the billions, this would be the largest crypto hack on record, well above the roughly $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025.

Market reaction

The news hit an already nervous market. Bitcoin had slipped below $80,000 earlier in the week after the Federal Reserve's hawkish rate hold, and reports describe a wider crypto selloff and heavy liquidations of leveraged traders as the Binance news spread. More in our Bitcoin below $80,000 article.

What to do if you use Binance

• Don't panic-sell or rush transfers. Withdrawals are paused on some networks anyway.
• Only trust Binance's official channels. Scammers always appear after a hack with fake "refund" or "verify your account" links.
• Never share your password, 2FA codes or seed phrase with anyone claiming to be support.
• Long term: keep only what you actively trade on an exchange, and hold savings in a wallet you control.

Also today: Polymarket hacked for about $2.7 million.

My take

Until Binance confirms the numbers, the most important thing is not to fall for scams and not to make panic decisions. CZ saying he expects users to be fully covered is a good sign, but it's not a promise from the company itself. The old crypto saying has never felt truer: not your keys, not your coins. I'll update this article as Binance shares more. Are you affected?

This is news, not financial advice.