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Chainalysis: $2.8 billion of the Binance theft is frozen

Chainalysis says about $2.8 billion of the roughly $6.4 billion taken from Binance had been frozen by 3 November, after the attacker raced to swap freezable stablecoins into Ether.

By FTC Editorial TeamPublished 1 min read

Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm working on the case, says funds began leaving Binance hot wallets across several blockchains at around 4:20 p.m. Eastern Time (20:20 UTC) on 29 October 2026, and that the unauthorised transfers totalled approximately $6.4 billion (Chainalysis, updated 5 November 2026).

Chainalysis: $2.8 billion of the Binance theft is frozen — risk-reward diagram
A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

Freezes and the race to swap

  • Freezes began: by 5:14 p.m. ET on 29 October, as stablecoin issuers worked with law enforcement and industry partners.
  • Frozen so far: about $2.8 billion as of 11:30 a.m. ET on 3 November.
  • The swap: the attacker moved $500 million of stablecoins to a wallet set up to swap them, and over nearly 20 minutes swapped $325 million of stablecoins into $285 million of ETH. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC can be frozen by their issuers; ETH and bitcoin cannot.
  • Laundering: Chainalysis sees signs of automation, with thousands of transactions in a short period and many addresses that first received exactly 1 TRX.
Chainalysis: $2.8 billion of the Binance theft is frozen — candlestick anatomy diagram
The parts of a candlestick: wick, body, open and close

Why the figures differ

Each source counts at a different time and price:

  • Total taken: Binance said about $6.3 billion on 30 October and about $6.34 billion in its 3 November report; Chainalysis says about $6.4 billion; the FBI says more than $6 billion.
  • Frozen: Binance said about $3 billion on 30 October and about $2.85 billion "frozen or intercepted" on 3 November; Chainalysis says about $2.8 billion on 3 November.

The FBI's list of 628 addresses linked to the theft is covered in FBI blames North Korea's TraderTraitor for Binance theft. How Binance replaced the losses is in Binance reopens withdrawals; 98% of stolen assets replaced.

Sources

  1. Chainalysis: The $6.4 Billion Binance Hack: Tracing the North Korea Link (published 30 October, updated 5 November 2026)
  2. Binance: Security Incident Update #2, 30 October 2026
  3. Binance: Initial Findings and Response Update, 3 November 2026
  4. FBI: North Korea Responsible for $6 Billion+ Binance Attack, 31 October 2026

Common questions

How much of the stolen Binance crypto has been frozen?

About $2.8 billion as of 11:30 a.m. ET on 3 November 2026, according to Chainalysis. Binance's own report gives about $2.85 billion frozen or intercepted.

Why can stablecoins be frozen but bitcoin cannot?

Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are issued by companies that can freeze tokens at an address; bitcoin and ether have no issuer that can do so.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money. Read the risk warning. Spotted an error? Tell the editors.

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