Binance Hack Reports: Timeline, Tether and Circle Freezes

Developing story, updated Oct 29, 2026, 7:00 PM ET. Everything below is as reported by the sources linked at the bottom. Binance has called this a "potential security issue" it is "actively investigating"; it has not published a final account, a cause or a loss amount.

Binance hack timeline (as reported, Oct 29, 2026)

All times ET. All times are as reported by Unchained via Yahoo Finance (external) unless another source is linked.

• 4:20 PM – An EIP-7702 delegation was set on the wallet labeled "Binance 14." How it was authorized is unknown.
• 4:24–5:04 PM – About $3.52 billion moved to a single address on Ethereum.
• 4:55 PM – Security firm PeckShield flagged the outflows.
• 5:01 PM – Tether reportedly locked about 975 million USDT.
• 5:04 PM – Circle reportedly froze 823 million USDC.
• 5:16 PM – Binance said it had "not confirmed any impact to user funds."
• 5:29 PM – Binance said "user funds are completely safe" and warned users about phishing links.
• Later – CZ posted that it "does look like a hack on Binance" (CoinDesk (external)); Binance told TechCrunch it had temporarily suspended withdrawals on multiple networks as a precaution (TechCrunch (external)).

Which stablecoins were frozen: Tether USDT and Circle USDC

• Tether: CEO Paolo Ardoino said Tether froze more than $1.5 billion of USDT (CNBC (external)).
• Circle: CEO Jeremy Allaire said Circle froze more than $800 million of USDC in coordination with law enforcement (CNBC (external)).
• Ripple: Binance co-founder Yi He said Ripple helped halt $200 million (CNBC (external)).

Decrypt reports the freezes in the main receiving wallet totaled about $1.8 billion (Decrypt (external)).

Is this the largest crypto hack ever?

CoinDesk's headline calls it the "largest crypto hack to date" (CoinDesk (external)), and Decrypt says it would be the biggest on record if confirmed (Decrypt (external)). The total is not confirmed: TechCrunch says at least $2 billion, CoinDesk/Arkham more than $5.7 billion, and CNBC says Arkham ties nearly $6 billion to 55 wallets. Outflows on other chains are unverified.

What about Aave?

CoinDesk reports the attacker borrowed about 20,000 wrapped ETH (roughly $44 million) on Aave using USDT as collateral (CoinDesk (external)).

What happens next?

Things to watch, none of them confirmed yet:

• A formal Binance statement on cause, scope and user impact.
• When withdrawals fully resume on the affected networks.
• Whether more stablecoin freezes follow and how frozen funds are handled.
• Whether investigators identify the attacker, who is currently unknown.

FAQ

When did the reported Binance outflows start? Per Unchained, an EIP-7702 delegation was set on a Binance-labeled wallet at 4:20 PM ET Oct 29, and large outflows began at 4:24 PM ET. Binance calls it a potential security issue.

How much did Tether and Circle freeze? Tether's Paolo Ardoino said more than $1.5 billion of USDT and Circle's Jeremy Allaire said more than $800 million of USDC, per CNBC.

How much was taken from Binance, per reports? Not confirmed. Estimates range from at least $2 billion (TechCrunch) to more than $5.7 billion (CoinDesk, citing Arkham).

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More on the Binance security incident

• Binance Hack? ~$5.6B hot wallet outflows explained
• Was Binance hacked? CZ's response explained
• Binance hack? Withdrawals paused, what we know

We'll update this post if the facts change.

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