Investors take out $3.6bn from Binance after record hack that stole billions
News Source
β’Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:08:05 GMT
π° What Happened
Investors pulled about $3.6bn from the crypto exchange Binance after a record hack. The company says $6.3bn was stolen from customer accounts on Thursday, the biggest heist in history.
Binance froze withdrawals while it looked into the breach. On Sunday it began letting customers take money out again in stages. By the afternoon it had paid out $4.6bn and taken in $1bn of new deposits.
That leaves a net loss of 2.1% of the $171bn the platform holds for customers. Binance said withdrawals are now slowing. A full report is due on Monday.
π The Backstory
Binance is one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, used by millions of people to buy and sell digital coins.
Experts have blamed North Korea for the theft. The country is cut off from much of the global banking system, and investigators say it uses stolen crypto to help fund its weapons programme.
Exchanges hold customer coins in one place, so a single breach can be enormous. Regulators have long warned that these platforms offer little protection if money goes missing.
π― Why It Matters
If you keep savings on a crypto exchange, a hack can wipe them out with no bank to step in. This shows why many people move coins into their own storage.
Investors pulled about $3.6bn from the crypto exchange Binance after a record hack. The company says $6.3bn was stolen from customer accounts on Thursday, the biggest heist in history.
Binance froze withdrawals while it looked into the breach. On Sunday it began letting customers take money out again in stages. By the afternoon it had paid out $4.6bn and taken in $1bn of new deposits.
That leaves a net loss of 2.1% of the $171bn the platform holds for customers. Binance said withdrawals are now slowing. A full report is due on Monday.
Binance is one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, used by millions of people to buy and sell digital coins.
Experts have blamed North Korea for the theft. The country is cut off from much of the global banking system, and investigators say it uses stolen crypto to help fund its weapons programme.
Exchanges hold customer coins in one place, so a single breach can be enormous. Regulators have long warned that these platforms offer little protection if money goes missing.
If you keep savings on a crypto exchange, a hack can wipe them out with no bank to step in. This shows why many people move coins into their own storage.