# 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.

- Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/binance-hack-2-8-billion-frozen-chainalysis/
- Type: Markets
- Published: 2026-11-06
- Updated: 2026-11-06
- Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team
- Currencies: BTC

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](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/binance-exploit-latest-findings-and-response/)).

## 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.

## 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](/news/fbi-north-korea-tradertraitor-binance-theft-2026/). How Binance replaced the losses is in [Binance reopens withdrawals; 98% of stolen assets replaced](/news/binance-withdrawals-reopen-98-percent-stolen-assets-replenished/).

## Sources

- [Chainalysis: The $6.4 Billion Binance Hack: Tracing the North Korea Link (published 30 October, updated 5 November 2026)](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/binance-exploit-latest-findings-and-response/)
- [Binance: Security Incident Update #2, 30 October 2026](https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/detail/d3306d9dca5243548c813b605e1d1751)
- [Binance: Initial Findings and Response Update, 3 November 2026](https://www.binance.com/en/blog/all/29-october-2026-binance-security-incident-initial-findings-and-response-update-3229153443759566763)
- [FBI: North Korea Responsible for $6 Billion+ Binance Attack, 31 October 2026](https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/alerts/2026/north-korea-responsible-for-6-billion-binance-attack)

## 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.

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This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.