Hack
According to the blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, the hack was linked to North Korean hackers. Specifically it has been attributed to TraderTraitor, who appear to be part of Lazarus Group. The hack is the largest ever cryptocurrency heist, surpassing the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025. According to the chief scientist of Elliptic, a cryptocurrency crime consultancy firm, the hack "is almost certainly the single largest known theft of any kind".
The hack itself took approximately 20 minutes, during which assets worth $6.36 billion were taken out of ten blockchains. One transaction was for more than $2.5 billion. According to Binance's CEO Richard Teng, the hackers used a multi-signature protocol called EIP-7702 to execute the attack on Binance's hot wallet.
Binance initially said that it believed the attack was carried out via a compromised software engineer's laptop, through which the hackers made unauthorized withdrawals. Other issues were later found, however. The hackers likely prepared the attack at least 36 hours in advance.
Whilst the exploit featured unique money laundering patterns, as of 30 October 2026 the hackers had yet to convert the stolen crypto into actual money. This process can take weeks to years and may require paying middle men.
Aftermath
Following the cyberattack, Binance halted all trades. They were able to have about half of the hacked assets frozen by blockchain partners, with cryptocurrency companies, including Tether and Circle, freezing $2.4–$3 billion of the stolen funds.
The company announced that they would cover all losses resulting from the hack, saying that all user funds were "completely safe". Binance also announced that they were cooperating closely with law enforcement to determine the origin of the hackers.
Bitcoin fell by 5% after the hack was announced, to less than $80,000. A number of related businesses, including Robinhood and Coinbase also saw significant decreases in their stock value.
Binance announced that they will show proof of reserves on 2 November, and Teng plans to resume services on Binance within 40 hours. The exchange stated that they have set aside $6 billion to cover all losses.
