CRYPTO · EXCHANGE RISK · UPDATED NOVEMBER 1, 2026
Is Binance Safe After the Hack? What to Do With Your Crypto Right Now
On October 29, 2026, attackers took about $6.3 billion from Binance hot wallets in roughly twenty minutes, the largest crypto theft on record. Binance has confirmed the hack, says customers will not bear the loss, and began reopening withdrawals on November 1. The useful question for your own portfolio is still the same: how much of it depends on one company, and what should you do about that now?
THE SHORT ANSWER
Is Binance safe right now?
As of November 1, 2026: Binance says it has absorbed the loss and is paying out, but the cause of the hack is not yet public. On October 30 Binance confirmed that about $6.3 billion was stolen from its hot wallets on the evening of October 29 and paused deposits and withdrawals. Blockchain analysts TRM Labs counted about $6.36 billion moved across 10 chains, most of it within about twenty minutes. On October 31 the FBI attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, the North Korean group it also blamed for the 2025 Bybit hack.
Binance says the losses "will not be passed on to users." It reported replacing about 90% of the affected assets on October 31 and about 95% by November 1, from company funds and its SAFU emergency fund, and began reopening withdrawals that morning in phases, starting with BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB and XRP; other networks follow after security checks. About $3 billion of the stolen funds, mostly USDT and USDC, is frozen. Binance has promised a detailed incident report and a new proof-of-reserves report but had published neither on November 1.
~$6.3B
Binance's figure, confirmed October 30. The largest crypto theft on record.
~$3B
Mostly USDT and USDC frozen by Tether and Circle. ETH and BTC cannot be frozen the same way.
~95%
As of November 1, from company funds and SAFU. Withdrawals reopening in phases.
North Korea
The FBI named TraderTraitor on October 31, as it did for Bybit's $1.46B in 2025.
So "is Binance safe?" still splits into two questions. Can the company absorb the loss? So far it says it has, and it is paying withdrawals; an independent check will only come with the proof-of-reserves report. And is your account safe? That part you control, and it's where the rest of this guide starts. Expect phishing: scammers use incidents like this to send fake "secure your account" and "claim compensation" messages.
READING THE HEADLINES
$2.5 billion or $6.3 billion? Why the numbers differed
Update, November 1: the official figure is now about $6.3 billion, confirmed by Binance on October 30 (TRM Labs: about $6.36 billion across 10 chains; Chainalysis: about $6.4 billion). The table below shows why the first night's headlines ranged from $2.4 billion to nearly $6 billion: they were measuring different things.
| Figure | What it actually counts | How solid it is |
|---|---|---|
| ~$6.3 billion | Binance's confirmed loss from its hot wallets, announced October 30 | OFFICIAL Binance; matches TRM Labs and Chainalysis |
| ~$2.5 billion | The single 20:24 UTC Ethereum transaction to the address funded via Tornado Cash | ON-CHAIN Visible on Etherscan |
| $2.77–3.5 billion | Outflows from Binance-labeled wallets on several chains, totalled by community trackers | ESTIMATE Depends on which wallets are counted |
| $5.57 billion | All outflows from Binance-linked wallets on Ethereum ($3.51B), Bitcoin ($1.44B, 18,270 BTC) and Tron ($630M), per Decrypt | ESTIMATE Link of BTC and Tron moves to the attacker not shown |
| $5.64 billion / "up to $6B" | Lookonchain's running total at about 21:22 UTC, adding small amounts on layer-2 networks; headlines round it up | NOT A LOSS FIGURE Outflows, not proven theft |
DO THIS FIRST
A 10-minute security checklist for your exchange account
A hot-wallet breach is about the exchange's keys, not your password. But the days after a big incident are when account takeovers and fake support scams peak, because people are anxious and act fast. These steps work on Binance and on any other exchange.
- 1
Open the app yourself, never a link
Type the address or use the installed app. Ignore emails, texts, ads and DMs about "securing" or "migrating" your funds. Binance's own Verify tool in the app checks whether a link, email or account is genuine.
- 2
Check balances, open orders and recent activity
Look at withdrawal history, device management and login history. Anything you don't recognise: change the password from inside the app and contact support from there.
- 3
Switch to an authenticator app or passkey
SMS codes can be hijacked with a SIM swap. Use an authenticator app, a passkey or a hardware security key as the second factor.
- 4
Turn on the withdrawal address allowlist
With an allowlist ("address management" on Binance), coins can only go to addresses you saved earlier. A thief with your login then can't send funds to a new address straight away.
- 5
Audit API keys
Delete keys you don't use. For trading bots and portfolio apps, keep "enable withdrawals" off and restrict the key to fixed IP addresses. A read-only key is all a tracker needs.
- 6
Set an anti-phishing code
Real emails from the exchange will then contain your personal code. An email without it is fake.
- 7
Lower leverage before you sleep
News like this moves prices fast. Reports put market-wide liquidations at more than $600 million within an hour of the first headlines.
YOUR NUMBER
How exposed are you to one exchange?
Most people know their total crypto value to the dollar and have no idea where it physically sits. The figure that matters on a night like this is your exchange concentration: the share of your crypto that depends on a single company staying solvent and honest.
Then stress-test it. A haircut is the share of balances customers might not get back, or get back only after a long wait. Binance covered its 2019 hack in full, so the haircut there was zero. When FTX collapsed in November 2022, withdrawals stopped overnight and customers waited until bankruptcy payouts that started in 2025. Most incidents land between those two cases, and no one can tell you in advance which one you are in.
| Example: $20,000 in crypto | Binance | Other exchange | Own wallets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | $12,000 (60%) | $3,000 (15%) | $5,000 (25%) |
| 10% haircut on Binance | −$1,200 | — | — |
| Loss as share of the portfolio | 6% at a 10% haircut · 15% at 25% · 60% if balances were frozen for years | ||
| To cap Binance at 25% | Keep $5,000 there and move $7,000 to another venue or your own wallet | ||
There is no official "safe" share. A simple house rule many investors use is the same one they apply to stock positions: set a target and rebalance when you drift away from it. For custody, that might be no more than 25–50% of your crypto with any one exchange, and long-term holdings in a wallet you control.
EXPOSURE CALCULATOR
How much rides on one exchange?
Enter what you hold in each place, pick a haircut scenario and the most you want on a single exchange. The calculator shows your concentration, the loss in that scenario and how much you'd need to move to meet your cap.
Scenarios are illustrations, not forecasts of what Binance customers will get back. Use current market values. Results stay in your browser.
SHOULD YOU WITHDRAW?
Should you withdraw from Binance? When self-custody makes sense
Moving coins to your own wallet removes one risk and adds another. It's worth thinking about calmly, not at 2 a.m. while a rumour is spreading.
Keep on the exchange
What you actively trade, and amounts small enough that losing them would hurt but not change your plans. Exchanges are built for fast orders; wallets aren't.
Move to a hot wallet
Coins you use in DeFi or pay with. Convenient, but the keys live on an internet-connected phone or computer, so malware and phishing are the risks.
Move to a hardware wallet
Long-term holdings. Keys stay offline, so exchange failures and remote hacks can't reach them. Losing the seed phrase means losing the coins, permanently.
If you do move funds, the costs are mostly small and practical:
| Cost or risk | What to expect | How to keep it low |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal / network fee | A flat fee per transfer that depends on the coin and network; the exchange shows it on the withdrawal screen before you confirm | Choose a cheaper network your wallet supports (for stablecoins, several are offered) and batch into one transfer |
| Wrong network or address | Coins sent to the wrong chain or a mistyped address are usually lost | Send a small test amount first, compare the first and last characters of the address, never copy addresses from messages |
| Queues during a scare | Withdrawals can slow down when many customers leave at once | Don't spam requests; one correct withdrawal is processed faster than ten cancelled ones |
| Your own security | No support desk can reverse a mistake or freeze stolen coins for you | Write the seed phrase on paper or metal, store it offline, never photograph it |
Proof of reserves is the other thing to watch. Binance publishes a monthly report that lets each customer check that their balance is included in what the exchange says it holds. The first report after this incident will show whether customer assets are still fully backed. Until then, spreading holdings across a few places is the one step that limits the damage from any single failure.
THE RECORD
How to track where every coin sits
The exchange app shows what's on the exchange. A portfolio tracker that only reads prices shows totals. Neither tells you, in one place, what depends on which custodian. A spreadsheet with one extra column, location, does. These are the columns worth keeping:
| Column | Why it matters | Formula (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Asset and quantity | What you own, in coins, not dollars | typed in |
| Location | Binance, other exchange, hot wallet, hardware wallet | dropdown |
| Account type | Spot, Earn/staking, futures margin; Earn and margin balances can have their own lock-ups | dropdown |
| Current value | Quantity × price | =C2*D2 |
| Share of portfolio | Concentration by asset | =E2/SUM($E$2:$E$100) |
| Value by location | Concentration by custodian | =SUMIF($B$2:$B$100,"Binance",$E$2:$E$100) |
| Cost basis and buy date | Needed for taxes, and to prove what you held if a claim is ever filed | typed in |
| Transfers log | Date, from, to, quantity, network fee, transaction hash | one row per move |
If you also trade, the same file can hold the trade log; we covered the columns in how to build a crypto trading journal in Excel, and for stock and ETF holdings in tracking an investment portfolio in Excel.
READY-MADE TEMPLATE
A crypto journal and portfolio tracker
If you'd rather start with the columns and dashboards built, there's a ready-made crypto bundle for Excel and Google Sheets; check the product page for its current features.
Crypto Trading Journal & Portfolio Tracker for Google Sheets & Excel
The current listing combines a crypto trading journal (coin, entry and exit, size, fees, P&L, strategy and coin reports, a calendar and a position size calculator) with a portfolio tracker that records buys, sells and transfers, calculates profit and loss per asset, updates prices via CoinGecko and lets you track holdings across exchanges and wallets.
- Holdings across exchanges and wallets
- Transfers and fees in one ledger
- No account connection needed
Only need one part? See the Ultimate Crypto Portfolio Tracker | Dark Mode, which segments holdings by exchange, wallet and network, or the Crypto Trading Journal Template for Google Sheets & Excel.
Product features and compatibility are listed on the product page and may change. A spreadsheet records where your assets are; it doesn't protect them.
TAX RECORDS
Moving crypto to your own wallet: is it a taxable event?
In the US, moving coins between accounts and wallets you own is not a sale, so the transfer itself is not a taxable gain or loss. Two details still matter. The network fee is often paid in crypto, and many tax tools treat that small amount as a disposal. And since 2025, exchanges report sales on the new Form 1099-DA, with cost basis for coins bought on that platform from 2026 onward; coins you move in from elsewhere usually arrive without a cost basis the new exchange knows about. Your own record of what you paid and when is what fills that gap.
CONTEXT
How this compares with past exchange hacks
| Incident | Size at the time | What happened to customers |
|---|---|---|
| Binance, October 2026 | ~$6.3B from hot wallets | Binance says users will not bear the loss; ~95% covered and withdrawals reopening in phases by November 1; the FBI attributed it to North Korea's TraderTraitor |
| Bybit, February 2025 | ~$1.46B in ETH | Bybit kept withdrawals open and covered the loss; the FBI attributed the theft to North Korea's TraderTraitor group |
| Binance, May 2019 | 7,000 BTC, ~$40M | Covered in full from SAFU; deposits and withdrawals paused for about a week |
| FTX, November 2022 (not a hack) | Billions missing from customer accounts | Withdrawals frozen; repayments through bankruptcy began in 2025 |
The pattern is the reason for everything above: in a hack, a well-capitalised exchange usually absorbs the loss; when an exchange itself fails, customers wait. You can't know in the first hours which story you're in, which is why the size of your stake on one platform matters more than any single headline.
UPDATES
Latest on the Binance incident
- November 1, 2026: Binance began reopening withdrawals in phases between 06:00 and 09:00 UTC, starting with BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB and XRP; other networks follow after security checks. It said it had covered about 95% of the affected amount and that the losses "will not be passed on to users." A detailed incident report and a proof-of-reserves report are promised, not yet published (CoinDesk, TechCrunch).
- October 31, 2026: The FBI attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-backed group, and said the assets were being converted mainly into ETH. Binance reported replacing about 90% of the loss, including funds from SAFU.
- October 30, 2026: Binance confirmed the hack at about $6.3 billion and paused deposits and withdrawals; about $3 billion was frozen. TRM Labs counted about $6.36 billion across 10 chains and said preparations began at least 36 hours earlier (CNBC).
- 22:10 UTC, Oct 29, 2026: Binance updated its statement to say user funds are "completely safe" (reported by Unchained); no hack confirmed yet. Some outlets cited outflows of about $3.5B.
- 22:00 UTC, Oct 29, 2026: First version. Binance investigating; no confirmed hack, loss figure or withdrawal halt. About $2.5B moved in one confirmed transaction; Tether and Circle had frozen at least $1.8B of stablecoins.
- Next: we'll update this page when Binance publishes its incident report and proof-of-reserves report.
FAQ
Questions about Binance and your crypto
Is Binance safe after the hack?
Binance confirmed that about $6.3 billion was stolen from its hot wallets on October 29, 2026. It says customers will not bear the loss, reported covering about 95% of it by November 1 from company funds and its SAFU fund, and began reopening withdrawals in phases that day. Until its promised proof-of-reserves report is out, that is the company's word rather than an audit. Secure your account and check how much of your crypto depends on one exchange.
Should I withdraw my crypto from Binance?
That depends on how much you hold there and whether you can keep a wallet safely yourself. Many investors keep what they trade on an exchange and long-term holdings in a hardware wallet. If you move funds, send a small test first, use an address you control, and never follow a link from a message about the incident.
Is my money safe on Binance?
Your account is safest with an authenticator app or passkey, a withdrawal address allowlist, an anti-phishing code and API keys without withdrawal rights. Whether the exchange itself can cover any loss is something only Binance can confirm, through its statements and proof-of-reserves reports.
How much was taken from Binance?
About $6.3 billion, by Binance's own figure (TRM Labs counted about $6.36 billion across 10 blockchains). About $3 billion of it, mostly USDT and USDC, is frozen by Tether and Circle. On the first night only one $2.5 billion transaction could be confirmed on-chain, which is why early headlines were lower.
What is Binance SAFU?
SAFU, the Secure Asset Fund for Users, is Binance's emergency fund for incidents such as hacks. It paid for the 2019 loss and is reported to hold about 15,000 BTC, roughly $1.2 billion at late-October 2026 prices. That is far less than the $6.3 billion loss, so Binance is covering this one from SAFU together with its own company funds.
Is moving crypto from an exchange to my own wallet taxable?
In the US, transferring coins between accounts you own is not a sale. A network fee paid in crypto may count as a small disposal, and coins moved between platforms can arrive without cost basis on the receiving exchange's tax forms, so keep your own record of each transfer and purchase price.
What percentage of my crypto should be on one exchange?
There is no official number. A common personal rule is to cap any single exchange at 25–50% of your crypto and keep long-term holdings in a wallet you control. Use the calculator above to see what a 10%, 25% or 100% haircut would cost you.
Sources and further reading
- CoinDesk: Binance opens withdrawals in phases following $6.3 billion hack (November 1, 2026)
- TechCrunch: Binance resumes withdrawals following $6.3 billion breach (November 1, 2026)
- CNBC: Billions in crypto frozen in Binance hack, here's what happens next (October 30, 2026)
- Decrypt: Binance drained of $5.5 billion in suspected hack, Tether and Circle freeze $1.8 billion (October 29, 2026)
- PANews: on-chain breakdown of the 20:24 UTC transaction (October 29, 2026)
- Crypto Briefing: Binance founder says suspected hack appears safe for user funds
- Crypto Briefing: Tether freezes USDT linked to suspected Binance hack
- FXStreet: Binance potentially hacked for $2.77 billion
- FinanceFeeds: $3.3B drained, Tether and Circle freeze
- FBI: North Korea responsible for $1.5 billion Bybit hack (February 26, 2025)
- IRS: Digital assets (tax treatment and Form 1099-DA)
First written 22:00 UTC, October 29, 2026; status, numbers, comparison, updates and FAQ checked again on November 1, 2026. Several outlets could not be read directly and are cited as reported; wallet labels come from third-party analytics, not from Binance. The exposure examples and calculator were built by SpreadsheetsHub and are illustrations, not forecasts. This article is general information, not investment, legal or tax advice, and it does not assign responsibility for the incident.
