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# Binance Hack: Up to $5.8B Tied to Suspected Theft
- URL: https://blog.harshkohli.com/binance-hack-withdrawals-paused/
- Published: 2026-10-30T01:05:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-02T09:35:27.000Z
- Description: Binance paused all deposits and withdrawals after a suspected hack. Here is what we know, what was frozen, and how to stay safe from scams.
- Author: Harsh Kohli
- Tags: Tech News, Software

Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, got hit late on October 29 (UTC), and the numbers floating around are huge. Blockchain trackers have tied wallets holding close to $5.8 billion (roughly ₹55,000 crore) to the incident. That doesn't mean all of it was stolen, but even the low estimates put this near the top of the all-time crypto heist list. If you have money on Binance, here's where things stand.

## What happened

Users started spotting large transfers out of Binance's hot wallets (the internet-connected wallets an exchange uses for day-to-day withdrawals) on Thursday. On-chain analysis cited by [BleepingComputer](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/binance-probes-potential-58-billion-crypto-theft-hack/?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) shows one hot wallet alone moved about $2.53 billion across 64 tokens to a freshly created Ethereum address, with more transfers following seconds later. Etherscan has since labelled the receiving address "Binance Hot Wallet Exploiter 2."

Arkham Intelligence is tracking 55 addresses under a "binance-hacker-1029" label, holding around $5.78 billion in USDT, Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC. That's the value sitting in those wallets, though, not a confirmed theft figure. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said on X that it looked like a hack and that he expects users to be "fully covered," as [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/29/binance-pauses-withdrawals-as-hackers-suspected-of-stealing-billions-in-crypto/?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) noted.

Binance itself has posted a string of updates. It first said user funds were safe and paused withdrawals on several networks. A few hours later it said in [a post on X](https://x.com/binance/status/2115947325617299903?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) that the verified amount frozen so far was $2.54 billion, a number it expects to rise. Its [latest update](https://x.com/binance/status/2115960292115124558?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) goes further: all deposits and withdrawals are suspended while it runs security checks and works with law enforcement, and the company now says it "will cover all losses." Binance Alpha trading is paused too.

The freezes are coming from stablecoin issuers. Tether's CEO said it froze over $1.56 billion in USDT and Circle's CEO said it froze over $800 million in USDC. Ripple and the USD1 issuer have also said they're freezing linked funds. Nobody has said who is behind it or how the attackers got in.

## Why it matters

For scale, the previous record was the roughly $1.5 billion taken from Bybit in February 2025, which was pinned on North Korean hackers. If even half the tracked amount turns out to be stolen, this beats it comfortably. Binance is big enough that it can probably absorb the hit, and the quick stablecoin freezes help a lot. But a frozen exchange is a stressful place to have savings, and crises like this are when scammers get busy.

I'd also keep in mind that the figures are moving by the hour. The $5.8 billion headline number and the $2.54 billion frozen figure measure different things, so don't treat either as the final loss.

## What to do

- **Don't panic-move funds elsewhere.** You can't withdraw right now anyway. Wait for Binance's official word that withdrawals are back.
- **Only trust official channels.** Get updates from the Binance app, its website or its verified X account. Ignore DMs, "refund" forms and support agents who reach out to you first. Binance warned about exactly this.
- **Never share codes or seed phrases.** No real support person will ask for your 2FA code, password or recovery phrase.
- **Check your account security.** Once things settle, review your API keys, withdrawal whitelist and logged-in devices.

Fake support messages tend to spike after news like this. I covered how AI-written phishing is getting harder to spot in [this post on Microsoft Teams' phishing detection](https://blog.harshkohli.com/microsoft-teams-ai-phishing-detection/), and the same red flags apply here. I'll update this story once Binance confirms how the breach happened and what was actually lost.

Hot wallets are in the news for smaller merchants too. If you run your own payment server, see my guide to [the BTCPay Server hot wallet attack and how to check your version](https://blog.harshkohli.com/btcpay-server-hot-wallet-attack-check-update/).