Key Highlights

● Binance disclosed a breach on Thursday evening.

● On Friday, October 30, 2026, it confirmed about $6.3 billion was stolen.

● That would be the largest crypto heist on record.

● It blamed a compromised laptop.

Binance disclosed a security breach on Thursday evening, and on Friday, October 30, 2026, it confirmed that about $6.3 billion to $6.36 billion had been stolen, according to reports. That would make it the largest crypto theft on record.

The scale set it apart, surpassing every earlier theft in the industry's history, according to reports. Binance, which operates the world's biggest crypto trading platform by volume, blamed the breach on a compromised laptop belonging to one of its DevOps engineers, according to market data. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Elliptic tied the theft to North Korea.

Freezing funds and covering losses

The exchange moved quickly to reassure customers. About $3 billion of the stolen funds has been frozen, according to market data, and Binance pledged to cover customer losses. Withdrawals are to resume by Sunday.

"We are committed to covering all hacked losses through our company funds," Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said.

Other parts of the crypto industry helped trace and lock up assets. Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, froze $800 million in USDC in coordination with law enforcement, according to market data. Market reports said that Circle was among the parties that helped Binance freeze stolen funds.

Prices fall

The reported hack landed on an already fragile market. Bitcoin fell to roughly $76,700 to $77,600, a six-week low, after trading near $86,000 earlier in October. Ether slid to about $2,237, a two-month low.

Crypto-linked stocks fell hard. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) tumbled to what market reports described as a two-year low, Strategy and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) slid, and bitcoin miners including Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) and MARA Holdings moved lower. Circle's shares also fell. A digital-assets research head said: "I suspect the negative price action still has some way to go."

The episode also produced a public exchange on social media. Binance co-founder and former Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao told Elon Musk, according to market data: "Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop."

A difficult day for risk assets

The crypto selloff was one part of a broad retreat. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 572.25 points to 51,770.31, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 747.73 points to 25,437.00, its worst day since June 5. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s cash-burn warning set off a chip selloff, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s results added to doubts about AI spending, oil traded above $100, and markets priced a December rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Gold also fell, dropping $132.50 to $3,898.90, a 52-week low. That suggested investors were not simply fleeing crypto for traditional havens; pressure was spreading across many assets.

What to watch

The immediate test is whether Binance resumes withdrawals by Sunday as planned, and how much of the remaining stolen funds can be traced or frozen. Investors will also watch for further detail on how the breach occurred and how Binance carries out its pledge to cover losses.

For markets more broadly, the focus turns to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s report on Monday, the midterm elections on Tuesday and the October jobs report on Friday, November 6. A stronger jobs number could reinforce expectations for a December rate hike, adding another headwind for crypto prices.