Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on October 31, 2026, that it has covered 90% of the $6.3 billion stolen in a hack on October 29, 2026. The company stated it has allocated over $6.34 billion of its own funds to fully cover the financial impact of the stolen assets, ensuring no losses for its users. Binance anticipates resuming user withdrawal services by Sunday, November 1, 2026.The remaining 10% of the stolen tokens are less liquid, meaning it may take longer to source them in the required amounts, according to Binance.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated on October 31, 2026, that North Korea is responsible for the hack. Two analytics firms, TRM Labs and Chainalysis, also indicated with high confidence that the North Korean state-backed hacking unit Lazarus Group, also known as TraderTraitor, was responsible. North Korea has consistently denied involvement in such attacks.The TraderTraitor group has been targeting the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem since at least 2020.Approximately $6.3 billion worth of token assets were illicitly withdrawn from Binance’s hot wallets on October 29, 2026. This incident is considered the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, surpassing the previous record of a $1.5 billion heist on the Bybit exchange in 2025, which the FBI also attributed to North Korea.Richard Teng, Binance’s co-chief executive officer, described the attack as complex, involving multiple ‘points of breach.’ Binance’s initial investigation suggested an engineer’s laptop was compromised, granting access for unauthorized withdrawals. The company also noted that the hackers employed sophisticated methods, such as a ‘self-destruct mechanism,’ to conceal their tracks.Binance has collaborated with law enforcement and industry partners to freeze approximately $3 billion of the stolen assets on the blockchain. The recovered assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether, along with seven other widely traded crypto assets, have been replenished from various funds and the company’s corporate treasury.Binance plans to resume withdrawal services for users by Sunday, November 1, 2026. The company also expects to issue a full zero-knowledge proof by November 3, 2026, which will allow users to verify the backing of their holdings.Binance is actively working with law enforcement and blockchain researchers to identify the hackers and recover the remaining stolen assets. A comprehensive report on the hack, including its root cause, will be published later.This is a follow-up to our earlier coverage: North Korean hackers steal $6.36 billion from Binance in record crypto heist.
Background
- Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao.
- Binance raised approximately $15 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017.
- In 2018, Binance established the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to protect user assets.
- The 2025 Bybit exchange hack, where $1.5 billion was stolen, was previously the largest crypto hack, also attributed to North Korea by the FBI.
Why it matters for Nepal
The Binance hack affected approximately $6.3 billion, or about NPR 958 billion, in digital assets.
