Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, that it has replenished 90% of the approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets stolen in a security breach. The company stated it used its own corporate funds and internal reserves to purchase new tokens to replace those lost in the attack.
The incident, which occurred overnight leading into Thursday, Oct. 29, is the largest reported theft in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. Blockchain analysis firms such as TRM Labs linked the activity to North Korean hacking units, noting similarities to previous attacks like the 2025 Bybit heist. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng described the event as a "complex attack" involving malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity.
Binance initially reported that the breach might have started with a single compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, but later stated the investigation uncovered "additional points of breach." To cover the losses, Binance utilized its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU)—a bitcoin reserve maintained for security emergencies—along with its Futures insurance fund and corporate treasury. The company has set aside a total of $6.34 billion to ensure users do not bear the financial impact.
The scale of the theft affects a platform with more than 300 million registered global users, which managed over $160 billion as of 2024. While Binance has committed to covering the loss, legal experts like Daniel Tunkel have noted that such promises may not be legally binding depending on individual user contracts. Users holding the remaining 10% of affected assets, which Binance described as "less liquid" tokens, face a longer waiting period for their balances to be restored as the company continues to acquire replacement tokens.
The impact for customers began when Binance suspended withdrawals. Bitcoin prices dropped 5% to $76,800 on Friday afternoon, Oct. 30, while shares of related firms like Coinbase and Robinhood fell 12% and 7.8%, respectively. Although Binance later said deposits remained functional, users were unable to move their funds off the exchange during the freeze.
A global law enforcement effort involving the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service is currently underway to "identify, freeze, trace, and recover" the stolen funds, which included U.S.-linked stablecoins such as Tether and Circle. Binance took a new snapshot of assets on Oct. 31 to verify that 10 major tokens, including BTC and ETH, are backed at a 1:1 ratio. The company stated it is on track to re-open withdrawals on Sunday, Nov. 1.