Binance hack: about US$6.3 billion taken from the world's largest crypto exchange
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, says an attacker moved crypto assets worth an estimated US$6.3 billion out of its wallets on 29 October 2026. If that figure holds, it is the biggest crypto theft on record, about four times the US$1.5 billion taken from the Bybit exchange in February 2025.
What happened
In a statement on 30 October, Binance said its first findings point to a compromised laptop belonging to one of its DevOps engineers. That access may have let the attacker reach an internal service and submit withdrawals that Binance had not authorised. The exchange said it has found no evidence that any wallet private key was leaked, and it has promised a detailed technical report once the investigation ends.
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs counts about US$6.36 billion moved out of Binance wallets on ten blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron and the XRP Ledger.
How much has been frozen
Binance says around US$3 billion has been frozen so far, most of it in stablecoins. Tether, Circle and Ripple froze the tokens they issue (USDT, USDC and RLUSD) in wallets the attacker controlled. Frozen funds can't be moved, but they have not been returned yet. TRM Labs estimates the attacker still holds about US$2.4 billion, mainly in ETH and bitcoin, which no issuer can freeze.
Who is behind it
TRM Labs says it believes "with high confidence" that the attack was carried out by TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group the FBI blamed for the Bybit theft. Neither Binance nor law enforcement has confirmed who was responsible.
What Binance users should know
- Binance says user funds are safe and that it will cover all losses from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and company funds.
- Withdrawals are paused while Binance rebuilds its withdrawal service. Co-CEO Yi He said the exchange expects to restart them within 48 hours. Deposits are running normally, according to the exchange.
- Binance has warned users to watch for scams. Don't open unofficial links or reply to anyone asking for your account details, and use only the official Binance app and website.
Crypto prices fell after the news. Bitcoin dropped about 5% to below US$77,000 and Binance's own token, BNB, fell 8%.
What it means in Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka says cryptocurrencies are unregulated here, are not legal tender and come without regulatory safeguards. It has not licensed or authorised anyone to run crypto exchanges or hold crypto for customers. Sri Lankans with money on an overseas exchange such as Binance are relying on that exchange's own promise to make them whole, not on any local protection.
