Was Binance Hacked? CZ's Response Explained

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.

Was Binance hacked? What did CZ say?

In a post on X, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said, as quoted by CoinDesk (external):

"User funds are safe. It does look like a hack on Binance … I don't manage Binance anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."

Cointelegraph reports CZ also said Tether and Circle had frozen about $971 million and $823 million respectively (Cointelegraph (external)).

Is CZ's statement an official Binance promise?

No. CZ says himself that he does not manage Binance anymore. TechCrunch notes he is Binance's largest shareholder and that he "did not provide an explanation" for his expectation that funds would be covered (TechCrunch (external)). Treat it as his view, not a commitment from the exchange.

What did Binance say, and how did it change?

• Per Unchained (via Yahoo Finance (external)), Binance's 5:16 PM ET statement said it had "not confirmed any impact to user funds."
• By 5:29 PM ET, Binance said "user funds are completely safe," and warned users about phishing links (Yahoo Finance (external)).
• A Binance spokesperson told TechCrunch the exchange "temporarily suspended withdrawals on multiple networks following a security incident as a precautionary measure" (TechCrunch (external)).

Binance has not used the word "hack" in these statements; that word comes from CZ and from outlets such as CoinDesk.

What did other executives say?

• 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)).
• Binance co-founder Yi He said Ripple helped halt the movement of $200 million linked to the incident (CNBC (external)).

How much was taken, according to reports?

Not confirmed. TechCrunch says at least $2 billion was drained; CoinDesk, citing Arkham, says the receiving wallet holds more than $5.7 billion; CNBC says Arkham ties nearly $6 billion to 55 wallets. Who is behind it is unknown.

FAQ

Was Binance hacked, according to CZ? CZ posted on X that "it does look like a hack on Binance," that "user funds are safe," and that as a shareholder he expects all user funds to be fully covered, per CoinDesk.

Does CZ still run Binance? No. CZ said in the same post that he doesn't manage Binance anymore. TechCrunch describes him as the company's largest shareholder.

Has Binance confirmed a hack? Not as of 7:00 PM ET. Binance calls it a potential security issue it is actively investigating and says it has suspended withdrawals on multiple networks as a precaution, per TechCrunch.

What traders can do right now

• Follow Binance's official channels only, and ignore "refund" or "compensation" links. Binance itself warned users about phishing.
• Don't share your seed phrase or sign approvals for any site claiming to return funds.
• Check any meme coin before you trade the volatility with our free meme coin scanner.

More on the Binance security incident

• Binance Hack? ~$5.6B hot wallet outflows explained
• Binance hack? Withdrawals paused, what we know
• Binance hack reports: timeline, Tether and Circle freezes

We'll update this post if the facts change.

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