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Binance Hack 2026: What US Crypto Users Need to Know

Mbatia Muitungu

Last updated: November 2, 2026, 6:30 PM ET. By Mbatia Muitungu. This is a developing story; figures are as of the date shown next to each one.

Not financial, tax or legal advice: This is general information based on official statements and news reports as of the date above. Crypto is volatile and you can lose all of it. For your own situation, talk to a qualified professional. This post has no affiliate links.

On October 29, 2026, attackers moved about $6.3 billion out of Binance.com hot wallets, the largest crypto theft on record. If you live in the US and use Binance.US, the company says your account was not affected. If you hold funds on Binance.com, Binance says it is covering the losses, so the main risk to you right now is scammers posing as Binance “refunds.”

Key takeaways

  • The FBI said on October 31 that North Korea’s “TraderTraitor” hackers were behind the theft (FBI alert).
  • Binance says it has covered about 95% of the stolen amount with its own funds and that users will not bear the losses (as of November 2).
  • Binance.US says it is a separate platform with no shared custody and was not affected (BBC).
  • Withdrawals on Binance.com partly reopened on November 1. More networks are due back Tuesday, November 3.
  • Binance says it will never charge a fee to release withdrawals or ask you to move funds to a “safe” address. Anyone who does is a scammer.

What happened

Most of the money left Binance wallets on ten blockchains in about 20 minutes, starting at 4:05 PM ET on October 29, according to blockchain analysts at TRM Labs (BleepingComputer). Binance paused withdrawals the same day. Its first update said the attack “may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop” that let the attacker reach an internal service and submit unauthorized withdrawals, with no evidence of a leaked wallet private key (Binance, October 30). Co-CEO Richard Teng later said investigators had found “additional points of breach,” so the laptop is only part of the story (BBC live coverage).

On October 31, the FBI, working with the Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, named North Korea’s TraderTraitor group, also tracked as Lazarus, and published hundreds of wallet addresses it wants exchanges to block. AP notes it is the same group the FBI blamed for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025 (AP). North Korea has historically denied involvement in these attacks.

Circle, the issuer of USDC, says it has frozen more than $1.1 billion in USDC linked to the theft (CNBC, November 2).

Where things stand (as of November 2, 2026)

  • Withdrawals: Binance reopened 15 networks and assets, including BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, SOL and XRP, on November 1. It processed $4.65 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits that day, a net outflow of $3.64 billion, or about 2.1% of its assets (CNBC). By midday November 2, net withdrawals since the reopening had reached about $4.72 billion, roughly 3% of assets, mostly in USDT (Reuters via BNN Bloomberg). Binance has also reopened fiat withdrawals, including US dollars (Decrypt).
  • Reserves: Binance published a zero-knowledge proof of reserves for ten assets from an October 31 snapshot. It plans another snapshot on Wednesday, November 4, with a proof about 40 to 50 hours later (The Block).
  • Still missing: the remaining 5% of the stolen amount is in less-liquid tokens Binance says it is still buying back.

Are US users affected?

Mostly no. Binance.com does not serve US residents. Binance and its founder pleaded guilty to US anti-money-laundering charges in November 2023 partly for serving Americans without the required controls (Justice Department). Americans are meant to use Binance.US, which posted on October 29 that it was “not affected” and its CEO said no custody is shared (posts collected by Techmeme).

You may still be exposed if you opened a Binance.com account while living abroad, or used a VPN to reach it. Using a VPN to get around an exchange’s country block can break its terms of service and leave you with little recourse. Our guide to no-KYC and offshore exchange risks for US users covers why.

What to do now

  1. Check your balance only in the official app or by typing binance.com or binance.us yourself. Don’t use links from texts, emails or social media.
  2. Ignore “refund” and “compensation” offers. Binance warned on November 2 that impostors are offering faster withdrawals, compensation or “vault” transfers. It says it will not sell queue spots, charge fees to release withdrawals, or ask you to connect a wallet or share your password, 2FA code or seed phrase (TokenPost summary of Binance’s warning). Fake “$150 reward” posts are also circulating.
  3. Be wary of “fund recovery” services. Anyone promising to get stolen crypto back for an upfront fee is a common follow-up scam.
  4. Turn on app-based or hardware-key 2FA and a withdrawal address allowlist on any exchange you use.
  5. Consider self-custody for long-term holdings. A hardware wallet keeps your keys offline, so an exchange hack can’t reach those coins. The trade-off is that you are responsible for the backup phrase; lose it and no one can restore your funds.
  6. If you were scammed, report it to the FBI at ic3.gov and keep screenshots and transaction IDs.

Can you deduct a loss from the Binance hack?

Probably not, because so far Binance says customers haven’t lost anything. Tax rules generally don’t allow a theft loss deduction while there is a reasonable prospect of being reimbursed. If you lose money to a scam that targets the hack, the IRS says theft losses are deductible only in limited cases, such as a loss in a transaction entered into for profit (IRS Chief Counsel Advice 202511015; Taxpayer Advocate Service). The author is not a CPA, and this is not tax advice. See our US crypto tax guide and talk to a tax professional.

FAQ

Is my money on Binance.US safe?

Binance.US says it was not affected and does not share custody with Binance.com. No exchange balance is risk-free, so keep only what you actively trade there.

Will Binance.com users get their money back?

Binance says user balances are covered and it has replenished about 95% of the stolen assets with its own funds as of November 2. Its proof-of-reserves snapshots let you check your own balance against its reserves.

Did Binance contact me about compensation?

Treat any message about compensation as a scam unless it appears in Binance’s official app or announcements page. Binance has said there is no cash voucher campaign.

Who hacked Binance?

The FBI attributes it to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. No arrests have been announced.

Check back after Binance’s November 4 reserves snapshot. We’ll update this post when withdrawals fully reopen.

Sources (checked November 2, 2026)

This article is for general information only and is not financial, tax or legal advice. The author is not a lawyer, accountant or tax professional.

Mbatia Muitungu

Mbatia Muitungu is the founder and editor of Digital Currency Pulse. A crypto enthusiast since 2018, he has been trading and buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across multiple exchanges ever since. He started Digital Currency Pulse to share what he has learned, writing practical, plain-English guides that help everyday investors buy, store, and manage crypto more safely and confidently.

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