Key Notes
- Tether’s CEO reports more than 1.567 billion USDT frozen and Circle’s CEO more than 800 million USDC, putting their combined thresholds above $2.367 billion.
- Binance says customer funds are safe while investigating a potential security issue and separately acknowledges withdrawal problems attributed to a technical error.
- Issuer freezes, wallet transfers and market liquidations are distinct figures, and a final multichain loss tally remains unresolved.
Binance says user funds are safe as Tether and Circle report freezing more than $2.3 billion in stablecoins associated with a potential security incident at the cryptocurrency exchange. The direct issuer statements increase the amounts previously cited by co-founder Changpeng Zhao, while leaving the exchange’s final loss assessment unresolved.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than 1.567 billion USDT linked to a potential Binance hack. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire separately reported more than 800 million USDC frozen in coordination with law enforcement. At the tokens’ nominal $1 value, those thresholds total more than $2.367 billion.
Zhao, widely known as CZ, had earlier described an apparent hack and said he expected customer funds to be fully covered. He stressed that he no longer manages Binance. His initial estimate of approximately $971 million frozen by Tether has been superseded by Ardoino’s larger figure.
It does look like a hack on Binance.
— CZ (@cz_binance) October 29, 2026
Binance Reassures Users as Withdrawal Issues Emerge
In its newer statement, Binance said customer funds were completely safe and its security teams were urgently investigating reports of a potential issue. It promised verified updates through official channels and warned against unofficial links, messages and requests for account information.
The exchange subsequently acknowledged withdrawal issues affecting some users, which it attributed to a technical error. Binance said its technology team was working to restore normal operations and would provide an update when withdrawals were fully restored.
That message did not say every withdrawal had stopped, establish a cause for the wallet transfers or confirm the size of any theft. Binance’s assurance about fund safety remains the company’s statement, rather than an independent reconciliation of all affected assets and liabilities.
Issuer Freezes Exceed Earlier Estimates
The latest issuer figures should replace earlier estimates rather than be added to them. Ardoino’s more-than-1.567-billion-USDT figure is not a separate amount on top of the approximately $971 million cited earlier by CZ.
Similarly, Allaire’s statement of more than 800 million USDC provides a direct issuer account of the freeze. It should not be added to the approximately $823 million Zhao previously attributed to Circle as though the two statements described separate pools.
Freezing is also distinct from recovering money for customers. Circle’s official guidance explains that blocklisting can prevent an address from sending or receiving USDC, but does not reverse a completed transaction.
The combined issuer thresholds therefore show the reported scale of restrictions, rather than a confirmed theft total or completed reimbursement. Neither chief executive’s statement supplies a final account of the incident’s technical cause or net losses.
What the Ethereum Transaction Shows
The Ethereum record under scrutiny is dated October 29 at 20:24:23 UTC. It shows approximately 167,464 ETH leaving the address labeled Binance 14, alongside 63 ERC-20 transfers. Selected token quantities include:
- Approximately 1.615 billion USDT.
- About 62.6 million RLUSD.
- Approximately 29,934 wrapped Binance staked ETH, or wBETH.
- About 11,372 Tether Gold tokens, or XAUt.
- Approximately 82.54 wrapped Bitcoin tokens, or WBTC.
These are quantities recorded in one Ethereum transaction. The record does not establish native Bitcoin or TRON transfers, and its WBTC movement should not be treated as a transfer of the same quantity of native BTC. Dollar valuations also depend on the price used and the observation time.
Etherscan labels associated addresses as Binance hot-wallet exploiters. Those labels provide context, while a complete loss estimate would still require reconciling relevant transactions across networks, identifying recoverable assets and avoiding double counting.
Market Volatility Spreads Beyond the Wallet Alert
CoinScreamer has updated its coverage with the direct Tether and Circle statements. Its earlier market snapshot showed Bitcoin below $78,500 and Ether below $2,250 during the sharp October 29 selloff.
Coinbase’s one-minute records put Bitcoin’s low at $78,177.37 and Ether’s at $2,230 in the 20:47 UTC interval. CoinScreamer also cited a 21:00 UTC CoinGlass snapshot of $630.27 million in liquidations over the preceding hour, including $608.45 million in long positions.
Those liquidation figures measure forced closures of leveraged positions. They are separate from exchange-wallet movements, frozen stablecoins and any eventual theft total, and should not be added to those amounts.
Monero briefly rose about 8.5% from a pre-alert reference price to its peak on Kraken, as CoinScreamer reported. No verified evidence reviewed for this article links those purchases to the wallets being investigated or establishes that laundering drove the rally.
A Final Loss Assessment Is Still Needed
The next material disclosures are Binance’s findings on the affected wallets, restoration of normal withdrawals and a reconciled account of losses, frozen assets and recoveries. The issuer statements are meaningful developments, but they do not settle the incident’s full scope.
For now, the verified public record supports reported freezes exceeding $2.367 billion and Binance’s assurance that funds are safe. It does not establish a final multichain theft total or support a definitive ranking of this incident against previous crypto hacks.
