Key facts
- Binance halted withdrawals after the attack on Thursday, October 29, 2026, and said it would use company funds to cover the losses.
- Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the complex attack may have begun with a compromised software engineer's laptop.
- Tether said it froze nearly $1.57 billion linked to Binance and Circle said it froze $800 million.
- Coinbase said it adjusted systems that store cryptocurrency keys offline solely out of an abundance of caution.
- OKX CEO Star Xu called for a real-time industry alert system to share information and freeze suspected stolen funds.
Crypto exchanges moved to strengthen their defenses and called for faster industry information-sharing after a $6.3 billion hack of Binance, the report dated October 30 said. Binance, described as the world's largest crypto exchange, halted withdrawals after the attack on Thursday, October 29, 2026, and said it would use company funds to cover the losses.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on X that the complex attack may have begun with a compromised software engineer's laptop, giving hackers access to systems used to process withdrawals. The company later found additional breaches, and software designed to erase traces of the attack hampered the investigation, according to the report.
Coinbase said it made adjustments to systems that store cryptocurrency keys offline solely out of an abundance of caution. A Kraken spokesperson said full-time teams at Kraken look for potential vulnerabilities every day. Analysts and industry executives said the industry would need to move urgently as regulators promote deeper integration of digital assets into the financial system.
Chris Perkins, Franklin Templeton's head of crypto, said: "For crypto to reach its full potential, the security situation must be addressed immediately." Josh Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at crypto firm GSR, said the industry writ large would not suffer material losses even though Binance would have to deal with the exploit directly.
Bitcoin fell more than 4% on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while ether fell more than 5%, and both tokens recovered some of that ground on Friday, October 30, 2026. The report said the bulk of the heist unfolded in around 20 minutes late on Thursday and bore similarities to previous attacks blamed on North Korea, according to US blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis. North Korea routinely denies involvement in cryptocurrency thefts, and its mission in Geneva did not respond to requests for comment.
Security experts said social engineering, in which hackers trick victims into revealing sensitive information or granting access to systems, may have been involved in compromising the laptop. Harry Donnelly, CEO of Circuit, a crypto risk infrastructure company, said companies are planning more employee training to guard against such attacks.
Stablecoin issuer Tether said it had frozen nearly $1.57 billion linked to Binance, while Circle said it froze $800 million. Bitcoin and ether cannot be frozen because no single entity controls the coins, the report said. Chainalysis said the hackers appeared to be using sophisticated laundering patterns it had not seen before.
OKX CEO Star Xu said in a post on X: "We need a real-time alert system that allows participants to share information immediately when a hack occurs, coordinate a rapid response, and temporarily freeze suspected stolen funds." GSR's Riezman said the Binance hack could spur the industry to act at a confluence moment for traditional finance and digital assets.