Binance has pledged to cover all losses after a major security breach affecting an estimated $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency. The exchange said approximately $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen as investigators traced unauthorised transfers following the attack on Thursday, 29 October.
In its latest update on Friday, Binance said deposits were operating normally, while withdrawals remained suspended during a security overhaul. The company said it expected withdrawals to resume within 48 hours, although that remained an estimate.
Employee laptop under investigation
Binance’s preliminary investigation points to a possible compromise of a DevOps engineer’s laptop. The company said this may have allowed an attacker to access an internal service and submit unauthorised withdrawal requests.
The exchange said investigators had found no evidence that wallet private keys had leaked. It promised a detailed technical report once the investigation was complete, leaving the precise sequence of failures subject to further verification.
Investigators identify a North Korean link
Blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs attributed the attack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, expressing high confidence in its assessment. That attribution comes from the investigative firm; Binance’s own statement said it was working with law enforcement to establish the attackers’ identities.
TRM estimated that approximately $6.36 billion moved from Binance wallets across multiple blockchains, with most transfers occurring within about 20 minutes. It described the incident as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, roughly four times the $1.5 billion Bybit hack of February 2025.
Frozen assets still require recovery
Tether, Circle and other industry participants helped restrict the movement of affected assets. Freezing funds can prevent further transfers, but it does not establish that the money has been returned to Binance. Recovery efforts remain ongoing.
Binance says it will absorb the losses using its SAFU emergency fund and company resources. It also plans to publish updated proof-of-reserves information after remediation. Those statements represent the company’s commitments, with implementation still to be demonstrated.
The immediate priorities are restoring secure withdrawals, recovering additional assets and establishing how the attacker gained access. The promised technical findings and reserve disclosures will be central to assessing Binance’s response.
NewsHub Finance | Cryptocurrency | 30 October 2026
Binance has pledged to cover all losses after a major security breach affecting an estimated $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency. The exchange said approximately $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen as investigators traced unauthorised transfers following the attack on Thursday, 29 October.
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