Binance estimates security incident impact at $6.3 billion; Chainalysis values stolen funds at $5.912 billion
Key Facts
Binance estimated the total impact of the security incident at about $6.3 billion in an announcement issued on October 30, 2026, while Chainalysis estimated the stolen funds at about $5.912 billion at the time of the theft. The platform said it had not confirmed the amount stolen, so its estimate of the total impact does not constitute an acknowledgment that the entire amount was stolen. It added that its blockchain partners had helped freeze affected assets worth nearly $3 billion on-chain. The two figures put the analytics firm’s estimate of stolen funds alongside the platform’s estimate of the incident’s broader impact. Binance said the investigation was ongoing and that it would publish technical details after it was complete and the facts had been verified.
Binance announced a temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals to complete security checks, and said it would cover the losses from the SAFU fund and company funds. It added: "Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and company funds. User funds are safe." The platform said it had found no evidence that private wallet keys had been exposed. The Associated Press reported that the initial investigation indicated a DevOps engineer’s laptop may have been compromised. Binance said this may have enabled the attacker to access a service container and send unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The company said it would publish technical details after the investigation was complete and the facts had been verified.
The incident news reverberated through the cryptocurrency market: Bitcoin fell 3.2% on the evening of Thursday, October 29, dropping below $79,000, according to the Associated Press. The move came after news of the hack spread, the agency reported. In equity markets, Intel closed at $92.07 and Amazon at $243.79 on October 29, according to EL7 data cited in the first draft. Sharper moves then emerged in extended trading after the results and outlooks were announced, a trading period separate from the regular-session close. Reuters reported that Intel shares fell more than 20% in extended trading. Amazon shares fell about 7% in after-hours trading when its results were released, according to the Associated Press.
Amazon’s sales outlook for the fourth quarter was between $240 billion and $247 billion, with expected year-over-year growth of between 12% and 16%. Analysts’ average sales estimate was $244.16 billion, according to the Associated Press. The company’s third-quarter performance missed revenue and earnings-per-share estimates, according to a correction in the evidence file. AWS posted strong growth, while the concerns cited by sources focused on capital spending, free cash flow and the holiday-season outlook. The projected sales range, which straddles analysts’ average estimate, puts quarterly guidance at the heart of the market reaction. The stock fell about 7% after the close when the results were announced.
Intel beat analysts’ estimates for third-quarter earnings and revenue, but its fourth-quarter outlook came in below those estimates. Reuters reported that the stock fell more than 20% in extended trading after the outlook was announced. Coverage attributed the pressure to continued weakness in the PC market and disruption at the company’s factory in Israel. The extended-trading decline does not describe the stock’s regular-session closing price on October 29, which was $92.07. The third-quarter results that beat estimates underscore the contrast between performance already delivered and expectations for the following quarter. The stock’s decline was thus linked to Intel’s outlook, PC-market conditions and its factory, according to the sources.