Binance Puts Hack Losses at $6.3 Billion, Pressuring Crypto Stocks

Key Facts

Binance estimated the total impact of its hack at about $6.3 billion and said in an update issued on October 30 that it had frozen about $3 billion in affected assets with the help of blockchain partners. The estimate came as crypto-related stocks fell in premarket trading on Friday, with concern over the incident spreading to digital assets. Binance said its preliminary investigation pointed to a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, which gave the attacker access to a service container and enabled unauthorized withdrawal transactions. It added that it had found no evidence that private wallet keys had been leaked. The exchange said it would cover all losses from its SAFU fund and company funds.

According to the Associated Press, Binance allocated more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the stolen assets and began restoring assets to users, while freezing about $3 billion with help from blockchain partners. The coverage amount disclosed differs from the exchange’s estimate of the total impact, at about $6.3 billion. In its report on the incident, the agency noted that the February 2025 hack of Bybit caused losses of $1.5 billion, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation said North Korea and the TraderTraitor group were responsible. The comparison highlights the scale of the Binance incident among hacks targeting crypto exchanges. An independent analyst cited by the agency said there was evidence the attackers had begun moving and converting some assets that had not been recovered, while the time needed to make them usable remained unclear.

In the market, Coinbase shares fell 5.2% and Robinhood shares 5.7% in premarket trading on Friday, while Strategy shares dropped 5.1%, leaving them 51% below their 52-week high. Bitcoin fell 3.1% from Thursday’s close to a six-week low before paring some losses. Ether dropped more than 3.9% to a two-month low, while BNB lost 6.1%. Jeffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said he expected some further downside pressure on prices. The report added that Binance expected withdrawals to resume within 48 hours of Friday, while the fate of about $3.3 billion in stolen funds remained publicly unresolved at the time.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Ramses Al-Sallal said Coinbase, Robinhood and Strategy shares could recover after the initial panic subsided, adding: "We would buy the weakness." That view reflects a perspective on how the shares may perform as concern recedes; it does not mean the companies’ stocks are a safe alternative for holding crypto. TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza said the hack exposed, in his view, a weakness in Binance’s security, not in Bitcoin or crypto technology. He likened it to a bank robbery, saying: "We don't stop using the dollar when a bank is robbed, just as car thefts don't make cars invalid." These views frame the incident as a security risk at a specific platform, while its effect on investor confidence and prices remains under watch.

Compass Point analysts said Binance had assets that could help it compensate customers, including $1.2 billion in excess USDT reserves, about $1.2 billion in Bitcoin reserves and more than $1.5 billion in USDC Treasury assets. At the same time, the analysts warned that customer compensation could put pressure on stablecoin supply. They also expected withdrawals from decentralized lending platforms could increase when markets reopen. The warning puts the possibility that the incident’s fallout could spread from the exchange’s accounts to other markets among the scenarios cited by the analysts. The report did not specify the potential extent of pressure on those markets.

Cantor’s recommendation comes as Coinbase’s third-quarter 2026 results showed total revenue of $1.2 billion and net income of $719 million, compared with adjusted net income of $78 million. The company said crypto market trading volumes fell 10% during the quarter as volatility declined to its lowest levels in years. But it reported that its share of trading volume rose for a fourth consecutive quarter, from 5.6% in the third quarter of 2025 to 10.7% in the third quarter of 2026, with gains in spot and derivatives trading. Coinbase announced that it completed the integration of Deribit in October and said it expected some short-term volatility in volumes as participants adjusted to the combined platform. It also planned to relaunch Coinbase Pro in the fourth quarter.

Binance said it would publish an updated proof of reserves after remediation was complete. While it expected withdrawals to resume within 48 hours of Friday, a report citing Reuters said about $3.3 billion in stolen funds remained publicly unresolved at the time. The recovery path for those funds depends on what can be frozen or recovered, while an independent analyst said the attackers had begun moving and converting some unrecovered assets. Compass Point analysts warned of possible pressure on stablecoin supply and increased withdrawals from decentralized lending platforms when markets reopen. Kendrick said the negative price action "could continue for some time."