Binance Hack: $2 Billion Drained, Circle and Tether Freeze, Crypto Markets React
Binance has confirmed a major security incident, with more than $2 billion drained across wallets. Circle and Tether have reacted quickly to freeze the majority of the funds.
The concern centers on an Ethereum address that appeared to hold more than $2.3 billion in tokens. Etherscan screenshots reviewed by BeInCrypto show it received 28,005.6 ETH from a Binance-labelled wallet, then sent 195,460 ETH, worth roughly $440 million, to another address.
Those movements have prompted claims of a $2 billion Binance hack. The amount stolen, if any, remains unverified.
“We are aware of reports of a potential security issue and we are actively investigating,” a Binance spokesperson told BeInCrypto. “At this stage, we have not confirmed any impact to user funds.”
The spokesperson said security teams were reviewing the activity and urged users to avoid unofficial links and requests for account information.
User funds are safe!It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from Tether (~$971m) and Circle (~$823m).I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered.
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 29, 2026
Nearly $1.8 Billion in Stablecoins Flagged
A monitoring screenshot indicates Circle froze approximately $823 million in USDC at the address. That action has not yet been independently confirmed.
A separate on-chain blacklist registry shows Tether initiated a freeze request targeting approximately $971.1 million in USDT at the same address. Its last recorded status was pending execution, meaning those tokens were not yet frozen.
Together, the amounts approach $1.8 billion, although they cannot currently be counted as confirmed frozen or stolen assets.
Does This Look Like Address Poisoning?
The wallet also received tiny transfers from several addresses resembling another address it had recently used. That resembles address poisoning: scammers insert lookalike wallets into transaction histories, hoping someone copies the wrong address when sending funds.
There is no evidence that this explains the $440 million transfer. Hot wallets are internet-connected wallets exchanges use to process customer deposits and withdrawals, but a transfer from one does not prove customers lost money.
For users, the immediate precaution is to verify entire recipient addresses, use saved withdrawal allowlists, and avoid copying addresses from transaction history. Check Binance updates directly through its official app or website.
USDT also slipped roughly 0.1% below $1 on some exchange quotes, while one decentralized swap screenshot showed a much deeper discount. That isolated quote does not establish a market-wide depeg.
The crypto selloff was already underway before the wallet alerts, so a direct causal link remains unproven.
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The above content was completed with the assistance of AI and has been reviewed by an editor.
