CZ Thanks Secret Service for Freezing Funds After $6 Billion Binance Hack

TLDR

• Binance founder Changpeng Zhao thanked the U.S. Secret Service and federal agencies for helping freeze stolen crypto after the October 29 hack.
• Binance estimates about $6.3 billion was affected, and industry partners have frozen roughly $3 billion.
• The FBI blamed North Korean hackers known as TraderTraitor for the theft.
• Attackers have been converting stolen funds mainly into Ethereum, and the FBI expects more laundering through DeFi and swap services.
• Binance says affected users will be covered using company resources and its Secure Asset Fund for Users.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has thanked the U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies for helping freeze stolen cryptocurrency. The exchange was hacked for more than $6 billion last week.

The attack took place on October 29. Binance estimated that about $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency was affected, and industry partners have frozen roughly $3 billion of it.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs estimated the attackers moved about $6.36 billion across 10 blockchain networks. Most of the funds moved within roughly 20 minutes.

Secret Service Confirms Funds Frozen

On November 1, the Secret Service said investigators worked with crypto industry partners shortly after the theft to find and freeze a large portion of the stolen assets. The agency did not share the exact amount it secured.

The Secret Service said work to recover the remaining funds is ongoing. Investigators continue to trace the assets through multiple crypto wallets.

The effort includes the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Columbia and the Central District of California. The Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and National Security Division are also helping.

FBI Blames North Korean Hackers

On October 31, the FBI said North Korean hackers known as TraderTraitor were behind the theft. Investigators saw the attackers converting the stolen assets mainly into Ethereum.

The FBI expects the hackers to keep laundering funds through decentralized finance protocols and instant swap services. These services let users trade assets without a traditional centralized exchange.

Authorities have asked node operators, instant exchanges, DeFi services and blockchain analytics firms to block transactions tied to the theft. The FBI also published a list of Ethereum addresses linked to the attackers.

Chainalysis has linked North Korean hackers to about 89% of crypto theft losses in 2026. The Binance attack is now one of the largest crypto hacks on record, passing the roughly $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025.

Binance’s early investigation suggests attackers may have compromised a DevOps engineer’s laptop. This may have given them access to an internal service used to send withdrawal transactions.

The exchange said it found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked. It revoked the affected access and paused withdrawals while it ran security checks.

The hack hit crypto markets quickly. Bitcoin and major altcoins fell, and liquidations topped $1.5 billion on October 30.

Binance said affected users will be covered for their losses. The exchange plans to use company resources and its Secure Asset Fund for Users, though the final cost depends on how much is recovered.

The FBI has asked anyone with information about the attackers or related transactions to contact a local field office. Tips can also go through its Internet Crime Complaint Center.

In a November 2 post on X, Zhao said the agencies and industry partners responded within minutes of the attack.

“Your speed, expertise, and dedication helped contain the damage and reduce the risk of potential ripple effects across crypto and, may I say, even the broader financial markets,” Zhao wrote.

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