Binance resumes withdrawals following $6.3 billion breach
- ID
- 41739
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 02 Nov 2026, 12:20 AM
- Fetched
- 02 Nov 2026, 12:35 AM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/01/binance-resumes-withdrawals-following-6-3-billion-breach/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 4.5
- Created
- 02 Nov 2026, 12:36 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_foundersvibe_coders
What happened
Binance froze all deposits and withdrawals after hackers stole $6.3 billion in crypto from its wallets, and on Sunday 1 November 2026 it began resuming withdrawals in phases. Binance says it has already covered 95% of the stolen assets and is still buying the remainder, which it describes as "less liquid in the market and take longer time to source at the required scale," while stating the losses will not be passed to users. As of Sunday morning Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals were still partially suspended, Ethereum deposits were normal but withdrawals only partially suspended, and users were told to expect longer processing times; a full incident report is pending, and the FBI attributed the breach to a North Korean group it calls TraderTraitor.
Why it matters
The concrete decision point is counterparty risk on centralized exchanges: a top-tier venue went days without withdrawals and is still sourcing 95%-covered assets on the open market, so any startup or founder holding operating treasury in crypto on an exchange just learned how long a freeze can last and that the tail of the loss is illiquid enough to take days to buy back. If you hold funds there, check which networks and assets are still partially suspended (BTC both directions, ETH withdrawals) before assuming you can move money this week, and decide whether treasury belongs in self-custody or split across venues.
Discussion angle
Binance is buying back the remaining stolen assets on-market rather than socializing losses — what does that do to liquidity and slippage for anyone trading those tokens, and should a small team holding crypto treasury treat exchange balances as cash at all?