When we talk about Binance, we are referring to the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world. Recently, needless to say, it found itself at the center of an international case, having suffered a cyber attack on the night of Thursday 29 October 2026.
It is not surprising that when withdrawals partially resumed on Sunday, customers withdrew a net $3.64 billion in the first 9 and a half hours, considering the theft of over $6.3 billion suffered by the platform, or approximately €5.7 billion.
According to the FBI, the attack was attributed to a hacker group linked to North Korea. A decidedly impressive figure, which the exchange however considers manageable, because it is equal to 2.1% of the assets held on the platform.
Binance assures that it has already covered around 95% of the losses, but the episode risks leaving its mark especially among institutional investors, just as the sector was banking on professional capital to grow.
What happened: the 6.3 billion Binance theft
The hacker attack suffered by Binance is among the most significant ever recorded in the financial sector. The FBI has targeted TraderTraitor, a group linked to North Korea, already known to analysts for its great technical capabilities.
According to US authorities, the proceeds of such cyber operations also help finance the country’s weapons programs. Around half of the stolen funds, according to available estimates, were made up of stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of a traditional currency such as the dollar. Precisely this allowed an initial recovery. Some issuers have managed to freeze identified assets, and Circle, the company that issues the USDC stablecoin, said it has frozen over $1.1 billion.
Withdrawals after reopening: 3.64 billion
The customer reaction was easily predictable. According to what was communicated by Binance, in the first 9 and a half hours after the partial resumption of operations, gross withdrawals reached 4.649 billion dollars, compared to deposits of 1.01 billion. An outflow, therefore, of 3.64 billion net. A surge clearly taken into account, following which outgoing volumes would begin to stabilize and reduce.
However, the company disputed the findings of DefiLlama, a blockchain data analysis platform, according to which outflows reached $5.81 billion. For Binance, those numbers do not take into account some transfers to new internal wallets.
Here are the words of co-CEO Yi He:
Our top priority is to ensure a safe environment, after which users can withdraw their funds and Binance can resume operations.
Binance Covers Losses: How It’s Doing It
The platform ensures that it is able to absorb the blow. According to the exchange, as mentioned, approximately 95% of the stolen cryptocurrencies have already been replaced, drawing on:
- company resources;
- an insurance fund;
- a fund dedicated to security breaches.
However, it will take longer to recover less liquid assets. The restoration of services proceeds in phases. Withdrawals of bitcoin on its network have been reactivated, as have those of ether and some dollar stablecoins on the Ethereum network, giving priority to user requests, while other operations remain temporarily limited.
The company, which claims over 335 million users and an average daily trading volume of $95 billion across cryptocurrencies and derivatives, emphasizes that new funds continue to arrive. As of October 28, the total declared assets were 171 billion dollars.
The market reaction and what savers need to know
So far there has not been a general rush to exit. “The attack has not yet triggered widespread panic or massive, concentrated withdrawals,” noted Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group. The risk, however, goes beyond the stolen money.
In fact, the matter could push professional operators, institutional investors and market makers to reduce their exposure to cryptocurrencies. The first signs point in this direction. US-listed bitcoin spot ETFs recorded outflows of $643 million on Friday, the highest daily figure in October, and more than $1.3 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated on the same day. “This data indicates that investors are reducing risk,” explained Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, who said that an attack on an exchange is equivalent to “an Internet-speed bank robbery”.
On the price front, however, the reaction has so far been limited. After hitting six-week lows on Friday, bitcoin recovered over the weekend, returning above $78,000 on Monday. Ether also recovered ground after reaching its lowest level in two months.
However, the story brings the issue of platform security back to the center. The traceability of transactions on the blockchain allows you to follow the path of the money, but does not guarantee the immediate recovery of the funds.
The difficulty lies in quickly coordinating the actions necessary to block the assets before they are transferred or converted. “The future of cryptocurrencies will not be decided by how much money enters the market, but by how safe that money is once it arrives,” noted Jonathan Benton, founder of digital asset recovery firm iSanctuary and former head of the international anti-corruption unit of Britain’s National Crime Agency.
For those investing in cryptocurrencies, the episode is a useful reminder. Leaving your funds on an exchange means entrusting their custody to a third party, exposing yourself to its operational and security risks. Before investing it is therefore advisable to:
- find out about the guarantees offered by the platform;
- evaluate the portion of your assets to allocate to such a volatile market;
- remember that, unlike bank accounts, cryptocurrencies held on an exchange do not enjoy the same protections as traditional deposits.
