Binance Hacked? $2.5B Leaves Hot Wallets as Exchange Investigates

Hakkı ALKAN

October 30, 2026

Was Binance hacked? Binance has not confirmed a hack. On October 29, 2026, more than $2 billion in crypto left Binance hot wallets for newly created addresses, and the exchange said it is investigating “reports of a potential security issue” while stating that “user funds are completely safe.” Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said it “does look like a hack,” and Tether says it froze more than 1.567 billion USDT linked to the incident.

Binance Hacked? What the On-Chain Data Shows

According to Etherscan data reported by BeInCrypto, at 20:24 UTC on October 29 a single transaction moved 167,464 ETH (about $388 million) plus 63 other tokens, including roughly $1.6 billion in USDT, out of the wallet labeled Binance 14. A second wallet, Binance 16, sent another 28,005 ETH to the same address seconds later. The receiving address did not exist before that day and forwarded about 195,460 ETH to another fresh wallet within 15 minutes.

BeInCrypto also reports that the transfer was triggered by a wallet funded only through the Tornado Cash mixer. On-chain trackers put the total outflow at roughly $2.5 billion to $2.77 billion across five blockchains and more than 60 tokens. These figures come from analysts, not from Binance. Blockchain security firm PeckShield first flagged “unexpected large outflows” from Binance hot wallets and its alert account later labeled the incident a hack. The Defiant reported that a Binance-labeled wallet was swept minutes after an EIP-7702 delegation, and that a separate 780 million USDC transfer followed. The root cause has not been confirmed.

What Did Binance Say?

Binance posted its statement on X at 21:15 UTC and edited it three times. The first version only said the team was investigating. A second version added that Binance had “not confirmed any impact to user funds,” a third removed that sentence, and the final version, published at 21:29 UTC, says: “User funds are completely safe.”

Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. User funds are completely safe.

Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information.

Users should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.

— Binance (@binance) October 29, 2026

Binance co-founder Yi He shared the same statement and thanked Tether and Circle for freezing funds. Binance has not said how much was moved, how the wallets were accessed, or whether withdrawals are paused.

Are Binance User Funds Safe?

Binance and CZ both say user funds are safe. CZ, who no longer runs Binance.com, wrote that as a shareholder he expects “all user funds will be fully covered.” He credited Tether with freezing about $971 million and Circle about $823 million in stablecoins. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino later said Tether froze more than 1.567 billion USDT “related to a potential Binance exchange hack.” Binance also runs the SAFU emergency fund, created to cover user losses in extreme cases, though it has not said whether the fund will be used.

Markets reacted quickly. BNB fell as much as 9% on CoinGecko data, and Bitcoin slipped from above $80,800 to below $79,000. Some users claimed on social media that they could not withdraw funds; Binance has not addressed those claims.

What Should Binance Users Do Now?

• Only follow updates from official Binance channels; Binance itself warned of scams using fake links and messages.
• Never share passwords, 2FA codes or seed phrases, and ignore anyone offering “refunds” or “recovery.”
• Check that two-factor authentication and passkeys are enabled on your account.
• Review and delete API keys you do not use, especially keys with withdrawal permission.
• Turn on the withdrawal address whitelist so funds can only go to addresses you approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Binance hacked?

As of 00:45 Istanbul time on October 30 (21:45 UTC on October 29), Binance has not confirmed a hack. It says it is investigating a potential security issue. CZ said it “does look like a hack,” and PeckShield labeled it a hack.

How much money left Binance wallets?

On-chain analysts estimate between $2.5 billion and $2.77 billion across five chains. Tether and Circle say they have frozen a large part of the stablecoins involved.

Is it safe to keep funds on Binance?

Binance says user funds are completely safe. Until it publishes verified details, users should secure their accounts and rely only on official announcements.

This is a developing story and will be updated as Binance shares more information. For background, read how Binance withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece, how Binance responded to money laundering allegations, and how Binance TR launched gold-referenced crypto trading.