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Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Stolen in Biggest Crypto Heist Ever
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Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Stolen in Biggest Crypto Heist Ever

Alex Rivera4 min read
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The Binance hack is now the biggest crypto theft on record. Attackers drained about $6.3 billion from the world's largest crypto exchange on Thursday, October 29, 2026, moving most of it in roughly 20 minutes, according to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.

That is about four times the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of 2025, the previous record. Withdrawals are frozen, bitcoin is sliding, and millions of users want one answer: is my money safe?

What Happened in the Binance Hack?

The theft started at 20:05 UTC on October 29, according to TRM Labs. Funds left Binance hot wallets on ten blockchains, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tron, Solana and the XRP Ledger. A second wave hit Avalanche and Polygon about three hours later.

TRM puts the total at about $6.36 billion at the time of theft. Binance itself reported roughly $6.3 billion in affected assets.

On Ethereum, the attackers abused EIP-7702, a feature that lets a wallet hand control to code, to turn a Binance hot wallet into a "sweeper" that emptied funds again and again. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng called it a complex attack and said the hackers used a self-destruct mechanism to wipe their tools. He added that investigators have found more than one point of breach, CoinDesk reported.

Binance has not yet published a full root cause.

Binance Hack: Key Facts at a Glance

  • Amount: about $6.3 billion (Binance); $6.36 billion (TRM Labs)

  • When: October 29, 2026, starting 20:05 UTC

  • Speed: most funds moved in about 20 minutes

  • Blockchains hit: 10

  • Frozen so far: about $3 billion, per Binance, mostly stablecoins

  • Suspect: North Korea's TraderTraitor group (TRM Labs, Elliptic)

  • Previous record: Bybit, $1.5 billion, February 2025

  • Withdrawals: paused; Binance is aiming to restart around Sunday, November 1

Who Is Behind the $6.3 Billion Crypto Heist?

TRM Labs says it attributes the attack "with high confidence" to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state hacking unit. The FBI previously linked the same group to the Bybit hack. Analytics firm Elliptic also tied the theft to North Korean hackers.

TRM points to a familiar playbook. The attackers funded wallets through the Tornado Cash mixer, staged the attack at least 36 hours in advance, and fired pre-signed transactions in one fast burst. The same pattern showed up in the Bybit hack and the April 2026 KelpDAO attack.

Neither Binance nor any government has officially confirmed who did it.

Is Your Money Safe on Binance?

Binance says yes. Teng said the attackers hit Binance's own hot wallet, not customer funds, and that the company will pay for every loss itself.

"We are committed to covering all hacked losses through our company funds." — Richard Teng, Binance co-CEO, via social media

Teng said Binance has set aside more than $6.34 billion to cover the gap, including $5 billion already held in the affected coins. The rest is being bought on the open market.

Not everyone is fully convinced. A CoinDesk review of Binance's reserve data found the hacked wallets had previously been listed among assets backing customer balances. Binance says a full proof-of-reserves report is coming on Monday, November 2.

Some analysts are calmer. Sean Farrell, head of digital assets at Fundstrat, said the hack does not currently look like a solvency event for Binance, Yahoo Finance reported.

How the Binance Hack Hit Bitcoin and Crypto Prices

The market flinched hard. Bitcoin fell about 5% to below $77,000 on Friday, ether dropped about 4% to around $2,200, and Binance's own BNB token slid more than 6%, according to Yahoo Finance.

Forced selling made it worse. About $1.5 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated across the market, mostly bets on prices rising, per CoinDesk. Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said he expects prices could fall further before finding a floor.

What Binance Users Should Do Right Now

  1. Use official channels only. Follow Binance's own app and verified accounts for the withdrawal restart. Big hacks attract fake "recovery" scams.

  2. Don't panic-sell into the drop. Withdrawals are paused anyway, and Binance has pledged to cover losses.

  3. Keep only trading money on exchanges. Experts quoted by CNBC suggest holding long-term crypto in your own wallet.

  4. Guard your recovery phrase. Self-custody puts you in control, but there is no help desk if you lose it.

  5. Read the fine print. Check whether your exchange keeps customer assets separate and whether a refund after a hack is a promise or just goodwill.

For more on the money side of tech, follow our Business and Tech desks.

What Happens Next

Binance is rebuilding its withdrawal system and plans a phased restart, targeting around Sunday, November 1, once security checks pass. The proof-of-reserves report follows on Monday, November 2.

The money trail is still live. Tether, Circle, Ripple and others have frozen large chunks of stolen stablecoins, but TRM estimates about $2.4 billion in ETH and bitcoin remains out of reach. It expects the hackers to try laundering it through bridges, swap services and OTC brokers next.

Get the 60-second version on The News Crew Shorts.

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