Binance freezes US$3b after suspected hack; SC listed it weeks earlier
Binance suspended all deposits and withdrawals at about 0030 GMT on 30 October after a suspected breach, weeks after the SC flagged it as an unregistered exchange.
What happened1/5 Binance confirms a suspected hack and halts all withdrawals
On 30 October 2026, Binance said all deposits and withdrawals had been "temporarily suspended" while its team ran security checks, froze funds and worked with law enforcement. The exchange said it had frozen about US$3 billion (RM12.6 billion) in crypto assets.
Co-founder Yi He posted that "Binance will cover all hacking losses", without giving further details. Former chief Changpeng Zhao, who remains a majority shareholder, said on X that "it does look like a hack on Binance."
Neither Binance nor industry observers explained how the breach happened. The company posted a series of messages on X that the Malay Mail described as "sometimes contradictory", insisting user funds were "completely safe" while also promising to cover losses.
The real numbers2/5 US$5.9b estimated stolen; other firms freeze billions more
US$5.912bChainalysis estimate of amount stolenUS$3b (RM12.6b)Crypto assets Binance frozeUS$1.57bFrozen by Tether (USDT)Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis put its "current estimate on amount stolen" at approximately US$5.912 billion at the time of the theft. Binance's own frozen figure of US$3 billion is lower, and the company said it "may continue to increase" as teams trace more assets.
Separate firms moved to freeze linked funds: Tether froze nearly US$1.57 billion, Circle froze more than US$800 million in USDC, Ripple froze about US$200 million, and World Liberty Financial reported US$27 million in stablecoins plus about US$2 million in its own tokens frozen.
- 01/02
US$5.912b Chainalysis estimate of amount stolen US$5.9b estimated stolen; other firms freeze billions more Chainalysis estimate of amount stolen
How it affects your wallet3/5 Malaysia's SC had already listed Binance as unregistered
On 8 October 2026, the Securities Commission Malaysia added Binance to its Investor Alert List, identifying binance.com as a website operating a digital asset exchange without registration. It was the only entity added in that update.
For anyone who had funds on Binance, the exchange said withdrawals would resume "once the checks were completed", but gave no timeline. Binance also operates a Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an emergency reserve held in Bitcoin, but the company did not detail how it would be used here.
Before using any crypto platform in Malaysia, check the SC's Investor Alert List and its register of licensed DAX operators at sc.com.my. A platform on the Alert List is not authorised to operate here.
Why it matters4/5 This could top the biggest crypto theft on record
The previous largest cyberattack of its kind was the US$1.5 billion taken from Bybit in February 2025, an incident attributed to hackers linked to North Korea. Chainalysis's US$5.912 billion estimate for this Binance breach would be almost four times that figure.
TRM Labs researchers estimated that US$2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen across nearly 150 attacks last year. In September, exchange Bitget reported the theft of approximately US$350 million in digital assets.
Trace Finance CEO Bernardo Brites told Reuters that artificial intelligence was making attacks harder to prevent because hackers could identify vulnerabilities faster than companies could patch them.
US$3b (RM12.6b) 02/02Crypto assets Binance froze US$5.9b estimated stolen; other firms freeze billions more Crypto assets Binance froze
What to watch5/5 Withdrawals paused, frozen figure may still rise
Binance said trading on its Binance Alpha platform was also temporarily suspended as a precaution. The company did not give a date for when normal withdrawals would resume.
The frozen amount "may continue to increase as our teams work closely with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets", Binance said. The US Department of Justice and the FBI had not responded to media requests for comment as of the reporting.
Questions people ask
Is Binance legal to use in Malaysia?
The SC placed Binance on its Investor Alert List on 8 October 2026 for operating a digital asset exchange without registration. That means it is not an authorised DAX operator here. Check the SC's website for the current list of licensed exchanges.
What is the SAFU fund Binance mentioned?
The Secure Asset Fund for Users is an emergency reserve Binance holds in Bitcoin, designed to protect customers during security breaches. Binance did not specify how much it holds or how it would apply to this incident.
How much did Bitcoin and other coins fall?
Bitcoin dropped about 2% to US$77,646, a six-week low. Ether fell around 2% to US$2,238.76. Binance's own token, BNB, plunged more than 8% to US$694 over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data cited by Scoop.
Source: PERKESOMalay MailThe Malaysian Reserve
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