Binance Hack Fears Shake Crypto: $2.8B Outflows Reported
Binance-linked wallets moved large sums on October 29, prompting researchers to warn of a possible hack, with social-media reports putting outflows near $2.8 billion.
Key Takeaways
- $2.77B in outflows reported across five blockchains.
- 780M USDC moved from Binance Hot Wallet 34.
- Recipient sent $1.2B USDT on to new addresses.
- Binance has not confirmed a hack.
The Walter Bloomberg account reported $2.77 billion in outflows across five blockchains, describing the suspected hack as unconfirmed, and SolanaFloor put the movements at almost $3 billion.
🚨JUST IN: @binance wallets record almost $3 billion in outflows amid suspicions that the exchange has been hacked.
No hack has been confirmed as of yet. https://t.co/r3zQfuW1dE
— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) October 29, 2026
Crypto prices slipped as the reports spread. Bitcoin fell below $78,500, Ether below $2,250, Solana below $96 and XRP below $1.25.
What the Ethereum transactions show
The alerts point to a newly created address, 0x5227f603C1eE34CE3C06eFe6477003BDfCCB2f8c. Etherscan shows it received funds from several Binance-labeled wallets within about 20 minutes:
| Time, UTC | Transfer |
|---|---|
| 20:24:23 | From Binance 14: about 167,464.2 ETH and 63 token transfers, including about 1.6 billion USDT |
| 20:41:23 | From “Binance: Hot Wallet 34”: 780 million USDC |
A third Binance-labeled wallet, Binance 16, sent a further 28,005.6 ETH. Together with the Binance 14 transfer, that accounts for the roughly 195,469 ETH Etherscan shows in the address, worth about $452 million.
The money did not stay put. The address sent 500 million USDT to one new address, another 500 million USDT to a second and 200 million USDT to a third, about $1.2 billion in total, each after a small 0.5 ETH test transfer. Several of the receiving addresses carry Etherscan warning flags.
Bitcoin moved at the same time. Transfer alerts shared by SolanaFloor showed 7,636, 4,696, 2,946 and 1,409 BTC leaving Binance for new wallets, about 16,700 BTC or $1.3 billion in total. Both Ethereum transfers above are likely already counted in the $2.77 billion estimates, so they are not additional losses.
What researchers are saying
In his initial alert, on-chain investigator Spreek said a Binance wallet appeared to have been emptied into a new externally owned address, and that the contract call had been funded through Tornado Cash. Etherscan’s own record lists the address as funded by Binance 14. Spreek added in the same thread that routine wallet maintenance remained a possible explanation, though he considered the activity suspicious.
Developer foobar described a likely ongoing compromise, pointing to the 780 million USDC transfer as a sign that it was still active. Trader Michaël van de Poppe said Binance was potentially hacked for $2.8 billion, a figure taken from the same Walter Bloomberg post.
Breaking news:
Binance is potentially hacked for $2.8 billion.
Stay safe out there everyone.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 29, 2026
What is still unknown
No statement confirming a hack was visible on Binance’s X timeline as of 20:59 UTC. Etherscan records the transfers and the wallet labels, but not who controls the receiving addresses or whether Binance authorized the movements. A statement from the exchange, a pause in withdrawals, or Tether and Circle freezing the receiving addresses would settle the question.
Update, 21:07 UTC
Tether has frozen $971 million in USDT amid the suspected Binance hack, the Walter Bloomberg account reported. That is most of the roughly $1.2 billion in USDT the flagged address sent on to new wallets. Binance had still not issued an update on the suspected hack at the time of the report.
Update, about 21:30 UTC
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has said the outflows look like a hack and that he expects user funds to be fully covered, while Binance says it is investigating and has not confirmed any impact to user funds. Tether has frozen about $1.5 billion in USDT and Circle about $823 million in USDC. Read the full update on CZ’s comments and the stablecoin freezes.
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
