Binance hack: billions frozen, withdrawals paused, what Binance says

What is new since our first story. Our earlier piece, https://freekonomist.com/news/binance-14-hot-wallet-drain-2026-10-29/, showed on-chain movements. Since then Binance has spoken for itself. Its co-CEO Yi He posted on X at 00:04 UTC on 30 October: user funds are safe, Binance will cover all hacking losses, and deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while the team conducts security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement. A full post-mortem will follow when the investigation ends.

Frozen funds. Binance told Al Jazeera it is working around the clock to trace and freeze more assets. Al Jazeera reports at least $3 bn frozen. Dân trí, citing Bloomberg, reports $2.54 bn and says the number may rise. The outlets differ, so treat the exact figure as open. Tether said it froze more than 1.567 bn USDT, and Circle's USDC freeze was about $823 million, per CoinDesk. Ripple froze about $200 million and World Liberty Financial $27 million.

Are user funds covered? Binance says so, in its own words: user funds are safe and it will cover all hacking losses. Founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer runs Binance, wrote that it looks like a hack and that he expects users to be fully covered. CoinDesk notes that Binance's SAFU emergency fund holds about $1 bn in bitcoin, but Binance has not said it will use it. CoinDesk's review of Binance's 1 October proof of reserves found the drained wallets were listed there. It estimates ether backing near 94% until Binance replaces what was taken. That is CoinDesk's estimate, not Binance's. The next reserve snapshot is due on 1 November.

Prices. Per CoinDesk, bitcoin fell 4.8% to near $77,000, ether fell 5.7% and BNB fell 8%. Al Jazeera says bitcoin dropped about 5%, below $77,000. Earlier in the move, per Dân trí, it fell as much as 3.7% to under $79,000, the lowest since September. Prices change by the minute, so check a live quote. Bitcoin's page: https://freekonomist.com/crypto/btc/.

Not confirmed. Binance has not given a total loss figure in the pages we opened. CoinDesk cites Arkham for a wallet holding more than $5.7 bn and Chainalysis for about $5.9 bn at the time of the theft. Dân trí says such wallet totals do not necessarily equal the amount stolen. The attack method and who did it are not confirmed by Binance. We do not name anyone. Withdrawals have no restart date yet. More about the exchange: https://freekonomist.com/exchanges/binance/.

Confirmed facts

• Binance co-CEO Yi He wrote on X on 30 October (00:04 UTC) that user funds are safe and Binance will cover all hacking losses.^[1]
• She wrote that deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while the team conducts security checks, freezes funds and works with law enforcement.^[1]
• Binance will share a full post-mortem once the investigation is complete; users should rely only on official Binance channels.^[1]
• Binance told Al Jazeera it suspended all deposits and withdrawals as a precaution and is working around the clock to trace and freeze additional assets.^[2]
• Al Jazeera reports that Binance said at least $3 bn in funds is frozen.^[2]
• Dân trí, citing Bloomberg, reports that Binance said it froze $2.54 bn of assets and that the figure may rise.^[5]
• Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said more than 1.567 bn USDT was frozen; Circle's USDC freeze was about $823 million per Zhao; Ripple froze about $200 million and World Liberty Financial $27 million.^[4]
• Founder Changpeng Zhao, who no longer manages Binance, wrote: "It does look like a hack on Binance."^[2]
• Binance's SAFU emergency fund holds about $1 bn in bitcoin, and Binance has not confirmed it will use it for this incident.^[3]
• CoinDesk found that the wallet "Binance 14" is listed in Binance's 1 October proof of reserves, and estimates ether backing near 94% until the stolen assets are replaced. The next reserve snapshot is on 1 November.^[4]
• Per CoinDesk, bitcoin fell 4.8% to near $77,000, ether fell 5.7% and BNB fell 8%.^[3]
• Al Jazeera reports bitcoin fell about 5%, to below $77,000.^[2]
• Dân trí reports bitcoin at one point fell as much as 3.7% to below $79,000, the lowest since September.^[5]
• CoinDesk cites Arkham for a wallet holding more than $5.7 bn and Chainalysis for about $5.9 bn stolen at the time of the theft; Dân trí cautions that wallet totals do not necessarily equal the amount stolen.^[3][5]

Implications

• ConfirmedBinance itself has said deposits and withdrawals are paused and that it will cover all hacking losses.
• ConfirmedBillions of dollars of assets have been frozen, but the reported total differs by outlet.
• ConfirmedBitcoin, ether and BNB fell on the news.
• Our readingUntil withdrawals reopen and the post-mortem is out, users cannot check for themselves whether every balance is backed one to one.

Still unknown

• The total amount stolen and the exact amount frozen.
• How the attack worked and who is behind it.
• When deposits and withdrawals will reopen.
• Whether Binance will use the SAFU fund, and how fast it will replace the missing assets.
• What the 1 November reserve snapshot will show.

Who it affects

World, Vietnam, Philippines. People who keep coins on Binance, and anyone following crypto exchange security

Sources

1. Yi He, co-CEO of Binance (X): Yi He post: user funds are safe, Binance will cover all hacking losses October 30, 2026 · official
2. Al Jazeera: Binance says $3bn in crypto funds frozen amid 'potential security issue' · media
3. CoinDesk: Binance loses $5.7 billion in 'biggest crypto hack in history' October 29, 2026 · media
4. CoinDesk: Binance hack drained wallets backing customer assets, reserve data shows October 30, 2026 · media
5. Dân trí: Binance đóng băng 2,5 tỷ USD sau nghi vấn bị tấn công, bitcoin lao dốc October 30, 2026 · media