Binance suffers record $6.3 billion cyberattack

Customer funds on Binance remain intact and backed. The platform confirmed it will absorb the entirety of the theft of $6.3 billion—the largest in cryptocurrency history—using its SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users) emergency fund and its own corporate reserves. The firm's co-CEO, Richard Teng, reported that the withdrawal service remains paused for security reasons and will be restored before Sunday, November 1.

Status of your funds and operations

• Guaranteed reimbursement: Binance has set aside more than $6.34 billion from its corporate reserves and the SAFU fund to replenish affected balances without deducting money from users.
• Paused withdrawals: Withdrawals were suspended to halt the outflow of assets and conduct audits, with resumption expected within a 45-hour timeframe.
• Deposits and verification: Deposits remain active and, after completing the replenishment, the company will publish its Proof of Reserves (Proof of Reserves) to certify the backing of each account.

Attack details and blocking of the loot

• Origin of the flaw: The theft occurred in about 20 minutes on the night of Thursday, October 29, after a DevOps engineer's laptop was compromised, without private keys being breached.
• International suspicion: The figure quadruples the record theft suffered by Bybit in 2025 ($1.5 billion), and blockchain analysis firms link the operation to North Korean hackers.
• Frozen assets: With the help of issuers such as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), nearly $3 billion was blocked, although some $2.9 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana remain in motion.

Immediate precautionary measures

• Fraud alert: Discard any email, message, or link offering "priority withdrawals" or recovery forms, a common phishing tactic during operational pauses.
• Access security: Review authorized devices within your account, update your password, and keep two-factor authentication (2FA) active via app or physical key.

Given the temporary suspension of withdrawals, cybersecurity specialists warn of a wave of phishing campaigns targeting concerned investors. To avoid falling victim to fraud, the following protection measures are recommended:

• Reject "priority withdrawal" links: Binance does not enable external forms, text message links, or emails to speed up the release of funds or verify balances.
• Distrust fake technical support: No legitimate representative will ask for passwords, seed phrases (seed phrases), or verification codes via phone, Telegram, or social media.
• Reinforce access credentials: It is advised to update the account password, verify the list of authorized devices from the official application, and keep two-factor authentication (2FA) active through code-generating applications or physical keys, avoiding the use of SMS.