Binance Says 90% of Hack Losses Covered, Eyes Nov. 1 Withdrawals
Binance says 90% of stolen funds are now covered, up from about 80%. Ten assets including BTC, ETH and USDT are fully backed, SAFU deploys within 24 hours, withdrawals target Nov. 1 and the full zero-knowledge reserve proof is due by Nov. 3.
Update: October 31, 17:20 UTC
CertiK's live dashboard records $3.03 billion in funds frozen or returned in October, according to The Defiant. That reduces the month's adjusted losses to $3.47 billion.
The Defiant also reported that CertiK puts 2026 crypto losses at a record $9.2 billion.
Update: October 31, 16:48 UTC
Binance confirmed it transferred 7,499 BTC from its SAFU fund as part of the replenishment, according to The Defiant.
Separately, Cointelegraph reported that less-liquid tokens make up the remaining shortfall, and that Binance is still buying replacement assets through market and over-the-counter trades.
Crypto Briefing put the potential Next Technology Holding bitcoin sale at $450M.
Update: October 31, 15:16 UTC
Tether froze nearly $1.57 billion and Circle froze $800 million of funds linked to the Binance hack, according to Blockonomi. It reported that the attack unfolded in about 20 minutes on Thursday and cost Binance a record $6.3 billion.
Blockonomi also said the breach may have started with a compromised engineer's laptop, with social engineering possibly involved. The outlet did not say how the laptop was compromised, and the cause has not been confirmed.
Separately, CoinGape reported that Nasdaq-listed Next Technology plans a potential sale of 5,833 BTC after its board authorized it, citing the Binance hack and quantum computing concerns.
Original report: October 31, 15:03 UTC
Binance now says 90% of its stolen funds are covered, up from roughly 80% in its previous update. Withdrawals remain on track to reopen November 1.
On Saturday the exchange confirmed 10 assets are fully backed at 100%: BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and ZEC. Our earlier coverage detailed the breach itself, and we later reported the exchange's $6.34 billion set-aside.
SAFU to deploy within 24 hours
Binance expects to deploy part of its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) within 24 hours. The emergency reserve dates to 2018. Binance has committed to restoring it to around $1 billion afterward.
Three pools cover the losses: SAFU, the Futures insurance fund and corporate treasury. Part of the Futures fund is already allocated. What remains still sits above the minimum set by Binance's risk-management rules. If it drops below that line, corporate funds top it up.
On Friday, Binance said it would put more than $6.3 billion in company funds toward the incident and is buying the remaining affected assets through market and OTC channels. The exchange, not users, absorbs the hit, it said.
Proof of Reserves: snapshot now, full proof Nov. 3
A new Proof of Reserves snapshot uses balances at 00:00 UTC on October 31. The full zero-knowledge proof, a cryptographic check of those balances, takes about 40 to 50 hours. Results are due by November 3, a day later than the date in our earlier coverage.
Once it lands, holders of the 10 fully backed tokens can verify at least 1:1 backing themselves.
What to watch
Until then, the 100% figure rests on Binance's word.
The November 1 restart is the first test. Withdrawals were suspended after the hack, which one report says initially saw roughly $3 billion frozen on-chain. Further announcements or market volatility could still shift sentiment around the reopening.
Coverage went from about 80% to 90% in one update. Next up: the reopening, then the Nov. 3 proof.
