Binance Investigates Possible Security Breach as Tether and Circle Freeze Over $2.3 Billion in Stablecoins
Binance says it is investigating a potential security issue and that user funds are safe, as Tether freezes over $1.56 billion in USDT and Circle freezes more than $800 million in USDC.
Binance said on Thursday its security teams are investigating reports of a potential security issue, while maintaining that user funds are "completely safe". The exchange has not confirmed a hack, and stablecoin issuers have moved to freeze more than $2.3 billion in tokens linked to the incident.
What Binance Has Said
In a post on X, @binance said its teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. The exchange said its security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency and will provide updates through official Binance channels once information is verified. It also told users to remain cautious of scams and not to trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.
According to ShiftDelete.Net, the statement was posted at 21:15 UTC and edited several times, with the final version at 21:29 UTC stating that user funds are completely safe. Binance has not said how much was moved, and the root cause has not been confirmed.
Stablecoin Issuers Freeze Funds
Tether CEO @paoloardoino said the company froze more than $1.56 billion in $USDT tied to the potential hack. Ardoino said Tether "froze more than 1.567B USDT related to a potential Binance exchange hack". Circle CEO @jerallaire said the company froze more than $800 million in $USDC. He said this was done in coordination with law enforcement, and that Circle would continue supporting the investigation.
USDT and USDC are stablecoins designed to hold a value of about $1 each, and their issuers can freeze tokens to stop them being transferred. Issuers cannot freeze ETH or BTC, so those assets that left Binance wallets fall outside the freezes, according to Coindoo.
Former Binance CEO @cz_binance said it "does look like a hack". "I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered," Zhao wrote on X.
Scale of the Outflows Remains Unclear
Estimates of the outflows vary. Crypto Briefing reported roughly $3.3 billion left two Binance hot wallets on Ethereum on October 29, 2026. Decrypt cited an on-chain tally of at least $5.57 billion leaving Binance-linked wallets across Ethereum, Bitcoin and Tron. Other analysts pegged the total at between roughly $2.5 billion and over $3 billion, with no official figures provided.
Markets reacted. FXStreet reported that Bitcoin and Ether fell below $80,000 and $2,300 respectively, with roughly $600 million in liquidations within an hour, according to Coinglass data. Crypto Briefing also reported that $BNB fell as much as 9% after reports of funds leaving Binance wallets.
The incident remains under investigation, and the exchange has yet to publish a full account of the cause or any confirmed losses. Readers should rely on Binance's official channels for verified updates.
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