Cryptocurrency exchange moves to reassure investors, says withdrawals stabilising
The hackers behind the raid were from North Korea, according to US blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs. PHOTO: PEXELS
Binance customers pulled $3.64 billion, or 2.1% of its assets, as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange resumed service after a security breach linked to North Korea saw $6.3 billion stolen from the platform last week.
The exchange moved to reassure crypto investors and said withdrawals were stabilising after an initial spike and deposit volumes had remained “substantial” after, what analysts believe, may be the world’s biggest financial robbery ever.
After hitting a six-week low on Friday, bitcoin prices recovered slightly through the weekend to trade above $78,000 on Monday. Ether hit a two-month low on Friday and also recovered a little to $2,287.
Binance, which allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets, has 335 million registered users globally. It said on Sunday it had $171 billion in total assets under management as of October 28.
Binance began restoring withdrawals in phases at 06:00 UTC on November 1, 2026. By 12:36 UTC, withdrawals had resumed for all 15 networks and assets in the initial phase. After an initial spike, withdrawal volumes have declined and are stabilising as expected, while deposit… pic.twitter.com/ZSnYGCTp9d
— Binance (@binance) November 1, 2026
The Binance theft adds to a string of recent crypto thefts. Attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 incidents last year, according to researchers at TRM Labs
Withdrawal levels are an early test of whether customers still trust Binance with their money after the attack. The exchange said it had covered 95% of the assets stolen in the heist.
Read: $1.5B stolen in Bybit crypto heist, North Korean hackers blamed
Stablecoin market capitalisations tend to fall when money is leaving cryptocurrencies and they have dropped since Friday. The combined capitalisation of the two largest stablecoins, USDT and USDC, has dropped by about $1.2 billion since Friday, according to Coinmarketcap.com.
CMC Market Pulse: Binance responds to security incident, Funds are SAFU
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💰 Kalshi… pic.twitter.com/GzfeALZUuU— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) October 30, 2026
Spot bitcoin ETFs shed $643 million on Friday, the largest daily outflow of October, and more than $1.3 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, said Ari Redbord, global head of policy at US blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs.
“I get why, for conservative institutional investors, this is unsettling,” Redbord said. “A hack at a financial institution means stolen usernames and passwords. A hack at a crypto exchange is bank robbery at the speed of the internet, which creates an unstable risk profile for anyone responsible for other people’s capital.”
