More than $5 billion drained from Binance hot wallet in suspected hack

More than $5 billion in crypto drained out of a hot wallet (an internet-connected wallet used for withdrawals) at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, early on Oct. 30 Korea time. Binance said on its official X account that "our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating," adding that "at this stage, we have not confirmed any impact to user funds." Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said "it does look like a hack on Binance."

1.6 billion USDT moved in a single transfer at 5:24 a.m.

Ethereum transaction records show that at 5:24 a.m. KST on Oct. 30, 1.6154 billion Tether (USDT) moved from a Binance hot wallet address (0x28c6…1d60) to a previously unseen address (0x5227…2f8c). The transaction was sent not by the Binance wallet but by an outside address. The Binance hot wallet still carries an EIP-7702 delegation. EIP-7702 is an Ethereum feature that lets a regular wallet delegate to another contract's code; once delegated, assets can move according to that code without a signature from the wallet's owner.

Decrypt reported that about three minutes before the first transfer, an address funded through Tornado Cash (a mixer that obscures transaction trails) submitted an EIP-7702 delegation for the hot wallet. How the attacker obtained the signature needed for the delegation is not yet known.

1. Oct. 30, 5:24 a.m.1.6154 billion USDT moves from a Binance hot wallet to a new address
2. Oct. 30, 6:05 a.m.Coinbase's Conor Grogan: "I think the number is potentially up to $5.8B"
3. Oct. 30, 6:15 a.m.CZ says it "does look like a hack on Binance"; Binance's official account says it is investigating
4. Oct. 30, 6:18 a.m.Circle CEO says more than 800 million USDC frozen
5. Oct. 30, 6:25 a.m.Tether CEO says more than 1.567 billion USDT frozen

Over $5.5 billion across Ethereum, Bitcoin and Tron

Estimates of the outflow vary. Citing an onchain tally, Decrypt said at least $5.57 billion left Binance-linked wallets, including $3.51 billion on Ethereum, 18,270 BTC ($1.44 billion) on Bitcoin and $630 million on Tron. CoinDesk, citing data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham, reported that the attacker's wallet held more than $5.7 billion in crypto.

If confirmed, it would be the largest crypto hack on record. The previous largest was the theft of about $1.5 billion in ether from Bybit in February 2025. Binance also lost 7,000 BTC from a hot wallet in May 2019 and covered the loss with its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU).

Tether and Circle lock up $2.3 billion

Stablecoin issuers moved quickly to freeze funds. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said "Tether froze more than 1.567B USDT related to a potential Binance exchange hack." Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said "in coordination with law enforcement, we have frozen more than 800M USDC associated with the incident." Together, the two companies froze more than $2.3 billion.

"I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."

Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder

Binance co-founder Yi He said on X that verified updates would be shared only through official Binance channels and urged users not to trust unofficial links or requests for account information. As of 7:30 a.m. KST on Oct. 30, Binance had not officially confirmed a hack or the size of any losses.

BNB slides 8% as bitcoin trades near $78,000

Markets were shaken. On Binance, BNB fell more than 8% within an hour, from around $744 at 5 a.m. KST on Oct. 30 to $680, and traded around $702 in the 7 a.m. hour. Bitcoin dropped 3.2% over the same period, from $80,848 to $78,297, before hovering around $79,000.

As of 7:30 a.m. KST on Oct. 30, bitcoin traded at 106.71 million won and ether at 3.079 million won on Upbit. The kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) for bitcoin on Upbit versus Binance was about 0.8%. BNB is not listed on Upbit's Korean won market and traded at 947,500 won on Bithumb.