Bitcoin Below $79,000 After Binance Incident as Withdrawals Gradually Resume
After unauthorized token withdrawals estimated at $6.3 billion, Binance is restoring withdrawals for selected networks. Bitcoin held around $78,600 on November 2.
Binance Hack 2026 ranks among the most serious security incidents in the history of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges by scale. Binance said that the compromise of hot wallets on October 29 resulted in unauthorized token withdrawals estimated at $6.3 billion. The exchange began gradually restoring withdrawals on November 1. Bitcoin traded just below $79,000 on November 2, at approximately $78,600 at the time of checking.
The estimated $6.3 billion represents the value of the unauthorized token withdrawals, not automatically a final and irreversible loss for clients. Binance claims it covered approximately 95% of the affected amount from its own funds. However, this claim has not yet been confirmed by an independent audit.
Binance Hack 2026: Compromised Hot Wallets
According to a Binance announcement, the incident began on October 29 at approximately 20:05 UTC. The attackers compromised hot wallets, meaning online wallets used by the exchange for operational transfers and withdrawals. Binance subsequently temporarily suspended withdrawals and began assessing the scope of the breach.
The company is still investigating the full course of the attack. It said the initial trail led to a compromised laptop, but later identified additional points of compromise. It has therefore not yet publicly confirmed the complete technical scenario or the perpetrators’ identities.
Analytical firms attributed the attack to the North Korean group TraderTraitor, but Binance has not publicly confirmed this attribution. The Associated Press described the incident, valued at more than $6 billion, as likely the largest cryptocurrency theft by nominal value.
Withdrawals Resume for Selected Networks
The first phase of withdrawal restoration began on November 1. It includes selected networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BSC, TRON, and Solana. Restoration for some networks does not mean that all assets and all withdrawal routes are already available.
For Binance users, the key questions are whether the exchange will complete the restoration of withdrawals without further restrictions and whether client balances will be covered to the declared extent. It has not been independently verified whether the declared asset coverage and the Proof of Reserves system fully cover all obligations to users.
Bitcoin Held Below $79,000
Bitcoin moved approximately between $78,029 and $78,814 on November 2. At the time of checking, it was around $78,600. The market thus stabilized below $79,000 after the decline at the end of October.
However, it has not been independently confirmed that the Binance incident was the primary cause of Bitcoin’s price movement. The timing between the security incident and the market movement alone does not establish causation.
What Comes Next
- completion of withdrawal restoration for all networks and assets,
- a technical postmortem report from Binance on how the compromise occurred,
- independent verification of reserves, balance coverage, and the extent of frozen or recovered assets,
- possible statements from investigative authorities about the perpetrators and a potential connection to North Korea.
Sources
- Binance — Security Incident Update #2 – Confirms the time of the incident, the estimated $6.3 billion loss, the temporary suspension of withdrawals, the investigation, and claims about loss coverage.
- Binance — Recovery Update #4 – Confirms the phased restoration of withdrawals from November 1 and the company’s claim of approximately 95% coverage of the affected amount.
- Associated Press — What to know about the $6.3B hack on Binance – Independently describes the scope of the incident, the freezing of some assets, and states that it could be the largest cryptocurrency theft by value.
- Investing.com — Bitcoin Historical Data – Supports the market data showing that BTC traded approximately between $78,029 and $78,814 on November 2.
Verified and updated: 11/02/2026 06:19
