Crypto hack losses hit $6.48B in October on Binance breach

Crypto hacks and exploits cost about $6.48 billion across 56 major incidents in October 2026, a rise of roughly 745% from September's $766.49 million, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. One event made up most of that total. The breach at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, accounted for about $6.3 billion, and roughly $3 billion of it has been frozen.x.com

Because the monthly figure rests so heavily on one incident, it says more about a single failure at the industry's biggest exchange than about a broad wave of attacks.

Two tallies, similar totals

CertiK, another security firm, reported a close but separate figure. It counted $6.5 billion in October losses across 89 incidents and said about $3.03 billion had been frozen or recovered, which leaves adjusted losses of $3.47 billion for the month, ForkLog reported. CertiK puts total 2026 losses from hacks and fraud at a record $9.2 billion. The two counts are not directly comparable, since they include different numbers of incidents and PeckShield's figure does not subtract frozen funds, EconoTimes noted.econotimes.com+1

PeckShield's figures put the Binance breach at the top of 2026's largest thefts. Bitget's roughly $387 million incident now ranks second, and Liquid Network's roughly $320 million loss, of which $285 million was returned, ranks third. As of Oct. 31, the year's 10 largest hacks totaled about $8.6 billion, or 92.3% of all 2026 losses, before frozen and returned funds are deducted, according to PeckShield. The rest of the top 10 includes Drift, KelpDAO/LayerZero and COLDCARD Wallet, TokenPost reported.tokenpost.com+1

Inside the Binance breach

According to Reuters, Binance promised to cover all losses from company funds and said it had set aside about $6.34 billion to do so. Co-CEO Richard Teng said the attackers manipulated a transaction-approval system, which let them move money out of an internet-connected "hot" wallet without going through normal controls. Tether froze nearly $1.57 billion in assets linked to the theft, and Circle froze more than $800 million, Reuters reported.newsobserver.com

Investigators including blockchain analysts TRM Labs and Blockaid said North Korea was likely behind the attack, Yahoo Finance reported. The FBI later attributed the theft to North Korean hackers, according to CertiK's news feed. After the breach, Bitcoin fell to a six-week low, and more than $1.6 billion in leveraged crypto bets were wiped out, according to Yahoo Finance.skynet.certik.com+1

Withdrawals resume

On Nov. 1, Binance began reopening withdrawals in phases, starting with the Bitcoin network, according to CertiK's feed. The exchange said it had replenished about 95% of the affected assets and that 10 tokens, including BTC, ETH and USDT, are now fully backed by reserves. Updated proof-of-reserves results are expected by Nov. 2, Cryptonews reported.cryptonews.net+1