Binance Hack: $6.3 Billion Hit in Biggest Crypto Heist

The Binance hack is now the biggest crypto theft on record. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, says about $6.3 billion in digital assets were hit. Around $3 billion has been frozen so far. Binance also says it will cover all losses.

Still, many people have questions. How did it happen? Who is behind it? Is our money safe? In India, searches for “binance hacked” jumped overnight. Searches for the bitcoin price climbed too. So in this guide, we break down what we know so far. We also share what users can do today.

Binance Hack: What Happened on October 29

The trouble started late on October 29, 2026, in UTC time. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says an attacker moved about $6.36 billion out of Binance wallets. The funds left on ten different blockchains. Most of it moved in roughly 20 minutes, starting at 20:05 UTC.

Binance first said it was looking into a “potential security issue.” Then it paused deposits and withdrawals. Founder Changpeng Zhao soon confirmed the worst. “It does look like a hack on Binance,” he wrote on X, according to the Wall Street Journal. He added, “User funds are safe.”

Later, Binance put the estimated total impact at around $6.3 billion, as CNBC reported. That is about four times bigger than the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025.

How the Attacker Got In

Binance shared early findings from its own review. It said the incident “may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop.” A DevOps engineer is a staff member who helps run the company’s systems. Through that laptop, the attacker reached a service container. That is a small, separate piece of software inside Binance’s systems. From there, the attacker sent withdrawal requests that Binance never approved.

Binance also said, “We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak.” A private key works like the master password for a crypto wallet. TRM’s view is a little different, though. It thinks the attacker gained control of Binance’s hot wallet signing system. A hot wallet is an online wallet that an exchange uses to pay out customer withdrawals. Signing is the step that approves each payment. Binance has not yet published a final root cause.

A Plan That Took Days to Build

This was not a quick, random attack. According to TRM, preparation began at least 36 hours before the theft. The attacker funded a wallet through Tornado Cash, a service that hides where crypto comes from. Next, it tested its code on a few wallets. Then, four hours after a final rehearsal, the same code landed on a Binance hot wallet.

Who Is Behind the Biggest Crypto Hack?

TRM Labs blames TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit. The firm says it makes this judgment “with high confidence.” Investigators link this group to the wider Lazarus Group, as Al Jazeera notes. The FBI named the same unit as the team behind the Bybit theft.

TRM’s chief policy officer, Ari Redbord, called the event a “watershed moment” in an interview with the BBC. He also warned about where the money goes. “When North Korea steals at this scale, the money funds weapons proliferation and other destabilising activity,” he told Al Jazeera.

Binance has not directly confirmed the North Korea link. However, it said it is “working closely with our law enforcement partners to confirm the identity of these criminals.”

Where the Stolen Crypto Went

The thief took many kinds of coins at once. TRM traced the main pieces:

• Ethereum network: about $3.79 billion, including ether and big amounts of stablecoins.
• Bitcoin: 18,270 BTC, worth about $1.47 billion.
• Tron network: about $628 million, mostly in USDT.
• XRP Ledger: 233.46 million XRP, worth about $296 million.
• Solana: about $96 million.

Stablecoins are coins tied to the US dollar. Their issuers can freeze them, and that became the key defence in this case.

Freezes Saved Billions in the Binance Security Breach

Several crypto firms moved fast to freeze stolen funds. Tether, which issues USDT, said it froze more than $1.5 billion. Circle, which issues USDC, froze more than $800 million. Ripple also froze funds in its RLUSD coin. Binance co-CEO Yi He said Ripple helped halt about $200 million.

In total, TRM counted about $2.7 billion frozen on-chain as of early October 30. Binance itself said around $3 billion was frozen. Meanwhile, crypto data firm Arkham linked nearly $6 billion to 55 wallet addresses, according to CNBC.

But the attacker raced the freezes. It sold stablecoins to market makers at a steep discount. It also borrowed ether against stablecoins on a lending platform. As a result, TRM says the attacker still holds more than 420,000 ETH and 18,270 BTC. That is roughly $2.4 billion that no issuer can freeze.

Will Binance Users Get Their Money Back?

Binance says yes. The exchange promised to cover all losses with its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and company funds. SAFU is an emergency fund Binance set up in 2018. It is generally kept at around $1 billion, as India Today explains. So the company would need its own money to fill the rest of the gap.

Here is where things stand right now:

• Deposits: Binance says deposits work as normal again.
• Withdrawals: still paused. Binance expects to start resuming them within 48 hours.
• Proof of Reserves: Binance will publish an updated report after the fix. This report shows it holds enough assets to back user balances.
• Technical report: a full post-mortem will follow once the facts are verified.

Also, the hack hit Binance.com only. Binance.US says its platform is not affected, the BBC reported.

Bitcoin Price and Crypto Stocks After the Binance Hack

Markets reacted fast. Bitcoin fell more than 4% to about $77,995 on Friday, CNBC reported. Al Jazeera said it briefly slipped below $77,000. Ether and Solana also fell sharply.

Crypto-linked stocks felt the pressure too. Shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) fell about 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday. Rival exchange Coinbase (COIN) said it was not affected by the incident. For context on recent swings, see our look at how the bitcoin price held near $79,000 earlier this year.

Why does one exchange matter so much? Binance is huge. It has more than 300 million registered users, according to the BBC. It also holds about $155 billion in assets, the most of any exchange. That figure comes from CoinMarketCap data cited by Al Jazeera. We covered its scale before in our story on Binance controlling $1.8 trillion in trading.

What the Binance Hack Means for Indian Crypto Users

Many Indian traders use Binance. India blocked Binance in January 2024. Before that, it held nearly 90% of the crypto owned by Indians, the Economic Times reported. That estimate covered about $4 billion in holdings. Still, there are no official figures on how many Indians use Binance today.

In 2024, Binance paid a penalty of ₹18.82 crore to India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND). The FIU-IND order cited breaches of the anti-money laundering law. After that, Binance registered with the agency and returned to India.

Tax rules matter here as well. Since April 2022, India taxes income from crypto at a flat 30%, plus surcharge and cess. A 1% TDS (tax deducted at source) also applies to many trades, as Mint explains. Losses on crypto cannot be set off against other gains. So if you are affected, it makes sense to speak with a tax expert.

Indian users also remember the WazirX hack of July 2024. That attack stole more than $230 million, The Hindu reported. Many users waited a long time for answers. That history explains why trust now matters so much.

How to Protect Your Crypto After an Exchange Hack

We can’t control how an exchange guards its systems. But we can lower our own risk. Here are simple steps:

• Use official channels only. Binance warned users to rely on its official updates. Scammers often pose as support staff during a crisis.
• Don’t panic-sell. Withdrawals are paused anyway. Fast moves made in fear can cost more.
• Spread your risk. Avoid keeping all your coins on one exchange.
• Consider self-custody. A personal wallet you control removes exchange risk. However, you must guard your own keys.
• Turn on strong security. Use two-factor login and a unique password. Our guide to cybersecurity habits experts swear by is a good start.

Market expert Sean Foley, of Macquarie University, put it plainly to Al Jazeera. “Any assets held at a centralised exchange are only as safe as the exchange itself,” he said. In other words, a bigger exchange can be a bigger target.

A Bigger Crypto Security Problem

This theft is part of a wider trend. Hackers stole $2.87 billion in crypto in nearly 150 incidents in 2025, according to TRM’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report. Smaller attacks keep happening too. For example, we covered how the Avici hack hit Solana confidence in August. Binance has faced tough questions before as well, as our piece on the Binance founder’s memoir shows.

Next, TRM expects the attacker to move funds through bridges, swap services, and brokers. Exchanges around the world are now screening deposits against the attacker’s addresses. So the chase is far from over.

Final Thoughts on the Binance Hack

The Binance hack is a wake-up call for the whole crypto market. About $6.3 billion was hit, and roughly half is frozen. Binance says users will be made whole. Even so, withdrawals remain paused, and the final post-mortem is still to come. For now, we suggest following only official updates and avoiding rushed decisions. We will keep watching how the recovery unfolds.

FAQs

How much money was stolen in the Binance hack?

Binance estimates the total impact of the Binance hack at around $6.3 billion. TRM Labs puts the figure at about $6.36 billion. Around $3 billion has been frozen so far.

Who was behind the Binance hack?

TRM Labs says, with high confidence, that North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit carried out the attack. Binance has not confirmed this yet. It says it is working with law enforcement to identify the criminals.

Is my money safe on Binance after the hack?

Binance says user funds are safe. It promised to cover all losses from its SAFU fund and company funds. Deposits work again, and withdrawals should start resuming within 48 hours.

Did the Binance hack affect Indian users?

The hack hit Binance.com, which many Indians use. However, there are no official figures yet on how many Indian users were affected. Binance says it will cover all losses.

Why did the bitcoin price fall after the Binance hack?

News of the Binance hack shook trust in the crypto market. As a result, bitcoin fell more than 4% to about $77,995. Ether and Solana also dropped.

Explore Smarter Stock Research With Meyka

Big crypto events like this can move crypto stocks such as Coinbase and Circle within minutes. Good data helps you keep up. Meyka is an AI-powered stock research and alternative-data platform. It helps you track companies, markets, and trends in one place. If you are interested in the stock market, check out Meyka and see how it can support your research.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.