Binance says $6.3 billion stolen; researchers blame TraderTraitor

16 sources · 23 articlesFirst reported Oct 29, 2026 · 21:24 UTCUpdated Oct 30, 2026 · 18:50 UTC (3h ago)1

What's new

October 30: Security Affairs reports Chainalysis puts the theft at $6.4 billion and cites commingling with last month’s Bitget exploit, while Binance still has not named the attackers.

Merged summary · x-ai/grok-4.7 · rewritten as coverage arrivesSummaries by Vani AI

Binance says about $6.3 billion was stolen October 29, billions are frozen, and researchers blame TraderTraitor while Binance has not named attackers.

Binance says about $6.3 billion was stolen from Binance.com on October 29 and that SAFU and company funds will cover customer losses. TRM Labs counted about $6.36 billion across ten chains, mostly within 20 minutes from 20:05 UTC; Security Affairs says Chainalysis put the total at $6.4 billion. Issuers froze roughly $2.7 billion to $3 billion, while TRM says about $2.4 billion in ether and bitcoin cannot be frozen. Binance reports no private-key leak. A preliminary account cites a compromised DevOps laptop, though Infosecurity Magazine says that theory was later revised, and co-CEO Richard Teng said it was not one engineer’s permissions alone. TRM, Chainalysis and Elliptic attribute the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor; Binance has not. Help Net Security and Infosecurity say deposits resumed, while TechCrunch and a later Security Affairs report say deposits and withdrawals remain suspended.

Key facts

Malwarebytes says Binance.US was not affected.
TRM: Ethereum about $3.79 billion, Bitcoin $1.47 billion, Tron $628 million.
TRM says attackers still hold over 420,000 ETH and 18,270 BTC.
Tether freeze figures differ: more than 1.567 billion USDT versus about 1.77 billion.
Infosecurity says withdrawals may resume within 45 hours after a security revamp.

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Timeline

dated events in the reporting · oldest first

Oct 29, 2026Outflows began about 20:05 UTC across ten chains. · Security Affairs
Oct 30, 2026About $2.7 billion frozen by 00:30 UTC, TRM says. · GBHackers
Oct 30, 2026Binance said $6.3 billion was stolen and losses covered. · Infosecurity Magazine

What each outlet adds

beyond the shared facts

SecurityWeekLaptop path, EIP-7702, Tornado Cash preparation, and Bybit comparison.
Cyber Security NewsChain totals, Ethereum sweep size, and USDT-to-ETH conversion.
Infosecurity MagazineSays the laptop theory was revised and deposits resumed.
TechCrunch · SecuritySays both deposits and withdrawals remain suspended; Elliptic Bitget link.
Security AffairsChainalysis $6.4 billion figure and Bitget fund commingling.

Vendors: Binance Coinbase
Products: USDT USDC
Threat actors: TraderTraitor Lazarus Group APT38
Victims: Binance
Organizations: Tether Circle TRM Labs Chainalysis The Block TRM Ripple World Liberty Financial Elliptic Arbitrum Security Council
Countries: North Korea

Coverage

oldest first · one row per article · UTC

Oct 29, 21:24 UTC · 1d ago Hacker News · securityFirst report
Tweet claims over $5 billion drained from Binance
The Hacker News post is only a link to a tweet, with no incident details or independent confirmation.
Oct 29, 21:38 UTC · 1d ago Hacker News · security
Arkham Binance-hacker page failed to load behind Cloudflare
The captured page is only a Cloudflare 403, so the $5.6 billion theft figure is unverified.
Oct 29, 22:27 UTC · 23h ago TechCrunch · Security
Binance pauses withdrawals amid suspected theft from crypto wallets
Circle froze about $800 million and Tether about $1.56 billion; watcher estimates of billions stolen are unconfirmed.
Oct 29, 22:45 UTC · 23h ago BleepingComputer
Binance investigates possible multi-billion crypto theft
Tether and Circle say they froze more than $2.3 billion linked to the reported incident; Binance has not confirmed theft.
Oct 29, 22:53 UTC · 23h ago Security Affairs
Binance investigates suspicious transfers of up to $5.8 billion; Tether and Circle freeze stablecoins
No breach is confirmed; the funds' ownership and whether transfers were authorized remain unknown, and stablecoin freezes cannot recover Ether or Bitcoin.
00:00 UTC · 22h ago The Record
Binance confirms $6.3 billion crypto theft and freezes about half
Assets moved across 20 blockchains in about 20 minutes; Binance says customer losses will be covered.
02:36 UTC · 19h ago Cyber Security News
Binance probes suspected theft of up to $5.7 billion
Binance has not confirmed the loss, says user funds are safe, and issuers froze about $2.38 billion in stablecoins.
04:14 UTC · 18h ago The Hacker News
Binance says incident hit $6.3 billion; nearly $3 billion frozen
Binance blames a compromised DevOps laptop for unauthorized withdrawals and says SAFU will cover losses.
04:22 UTC · 17h ago The Register · Security
Binance halts trading after laptop compromise tied to $6.3 billion
Binance says a DevOps laptop led to unauthorized withdrawals, user funds are safe, and no wallet private keys leaked.
06:18 UTC · 15h ago GBHackers
Binance suspends transfers after reported theft of up to $5.7 billion
Binance says it will cover losses; a preliminary laptop compromise and multi-billion-dollar freezes remain under investigation.
07:41 UTC · 14h ago Hacker News · security
Binance reports $6.3 billion crypto theft blamed on North Korea
Binance froze withdrawals, says about $3 billion is frozen on-chain, and pledges to cover the losses.
08:16 UTC · 13h ago SecurityWeek
Binance loses about $6.3 billion in heist linked to TraderTraitor
TRM tracked $6.36 billion across ten chains in about 20 minutes; roughly $3 billion is frozen and $2.4 billion remains movable.
08:26 UTC · 13h ago Help Net Security
Binance reports about $6.3 billion stolen in crypto heist
Binance will cover user losses, and close to $3 billion has already been frozen on-chain.
08:51 UTC · 13h ago SOCRadar
SOCRadar headline claims a $6.3B Binance hot-wallet theft
The supplied page is mostly site navigation, so how the wallets were taken and whether Binance confirmed the loss are not stated.
09:16 UTC · 12h ago Cyber Security News
TRM ties $6.36 billion Binance theft to TraderTraitor
Sweeper contracts and EIP-7702 delegations drained hot wallets; about $2.7 billion was later frozen.
09:18 UTC · 12h ago BleepingComputer
Binance links $6.3 billion crypto theft to compromised laptop
TRM and Chainalysis attribute the October 29 theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor; Binance has not named a culprit.
11:25 UTC · 10h ago Infosecurity Magazine
Binance confirms $6.3bn cryptocurrency theft in record heist
The exchange froze about $3bn, paused withdrawals, and says customer funds are covered; three firms blame TraderTraitor.
11:36 UTC · 10h ago WIRED · Security
Binance wallets drained of about $6.3 billion in roughly 20 minutes
Tracing firms suspect North Korea’s TraderTraitor, which Binance has not confirmed; about $2.8 billion, mostly stablecoins, has been frozen.
12:24 UTC · 9h ago Malwarebytes Labs
Binance says attackers stole about $6.3 billion in crypto
Binance reports freezing about $3 billion, denies a private-key leak, and says it will cover losses.
13:46 UTC · 8h ago Ars Technica · Security
Hackers steal $6.3 billion from Binance in record crypto heist
Elliptic verified $2.8 billion frozen, mostly USDT and USDC, while Binance says private keys were not breached.
14:00 UTC · 8h ago TechCrunch · Security
North Korean hackers blamed for record $6.3B Binance crypto theft
Binance says a compromised engineer laptop enabled unauthorized withdrawals and has halted deposits and withdrawals.
16:57 UTC · 5h ago GBHackers
TraderTraitor drained about $6.36 billion from Binance wallets
TRM Labs says most funds left in about 20 minutes on October 29 across ten chains; Binance says user funds are safe.
18:50 UTC · 3h ago Security Affairs
Binance ties roughly $6.3 billion crypto theft to a laptop
TRM and Chainalysis blame North Korea's TraderTraitor, while Binance says it has not identified who is responsible and will cover losses.