Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Impacted, Circle and Tether Freeze, Crypto Markets React
Binance has confirmed a major security incident, with more than $2 billion drained across wallets. Circle and Tether have reacted quickly to freeze the majority of the funds.
The concern centers on an Ethereum address that appeared to hold more than $2.3 billion in tokens. Etherscan screenshots reviewed by BeInCrypto show it received 28,005.6 ETH from a Binance-labelled wallet, then sent 195,460 ETH, worth roughly $440 million, to another address.
Those movements have prompted claims of a $2 billion Binance hack. The amount stolen, if any, remains unverified.
“We are aware of reports of a potential security issue and we are actively investigating,” a Binance spokesperson told BeInCrypto. “At this stage, we have not confirmed any impact to user funds.”
The spokesperson said security teams were reviewing the activity and urged users to avoid unofficial links and requests for account information.
User funds are safe!
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 29, 2026
It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from Tether (~$971m) and Circle (~$823m).
I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered. https://t.co/oufpyNChxI
Update: Binance Points to Compromised DevOps Laptop, Puts Total Impact at $6.3 Billion
Binance says its initial investigation points to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawals.
It found no evidence of a private key leak.
The exchange estimates total impact at around $6.3 billion, with about $3 billion frozen on-chain, and says it will cover all losses from its SAFU fund and company funds.
Binance's initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. We have found no evidence of any wallet private… pic.twitter.com/5REncAI77y
— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026
Binance Will Cover All Losses
In a post on X, the exchange said it has temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals as a precaution while its team conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement.
Binance will cover all losses.
— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026
As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while our team conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement.
We are working around the clock and will share a full post-mortem once the… pic.twitter.com/3LxFFRiomJ
The exchange said its team is working around the clock and will share a full post-mortem once the investigation is complete. It urged users to rely only on official Binance channels for updates.
Binance also recently updated that the verified total of frozen funds now stands at around $3 billion. The exchange said its teams are working closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms, and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.
Binance added that it will share only confirmed figures and provide further updates as verified information becomes available. It reiterated that user funds are safe.
Update: The current verified total frozen amount is around $3 billion.
— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026
Our teams continue to work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets.
We will only share confirmed figures and will… pic.twitter.com/e5RHM1VwOU
Nearly $1.8 Billion in Stablecoins Flagged
A monitoring screenshot indicates Circle froze approximately $823 million in USDC at the address. That action has not yet been independently confirmed.
A separate on-chain blacklist registry shows Tether initiated a freeze request targeting approximately $971.1 million in USDT at the same address. Its last recorded status was pending execution, meaning those tokens were not yet frozen.
Together, the amounts approach $1.8 billion, although they cannot currently be counted as confirmed frozen or stolen assets.
Does This Look Like Address Poisoning?
The wallet also received tiny transfers from several addresses resembling another address it had recently used. That resembles address poisoning: scammers insert lookalike wallets into transaction histories, hoping someone copies the wrong address when sending funds.
There is no evidence that this explains the $440 million transfer. Hot wallets are internet-connected wallets exchanges use to process customer deposits and withdrawals, but a transfer from one does not prove customers lost money.
For users, the immediate precaution is to verify entire recipient addresses, use saved withdrawal allowlists, and avoid copying addresses from transaction history. Check Binance updates directly through its official app or website.
USDT also slipped roughly 0.1% below $1 on some exchange quotes, while one decentralized swap screenshot showed a much deeper discount. That isolated quote does not establish a market-wide depeg.
The crypto selloff was already underway before the wallet alerts, so a direct causal link remains unproven.