Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, said on 1 November it had restored withdrawals following a cyberattack affecting more than $6 billion in assets, VietnamPlus reported. The Bitcoin (BTC) network was the first service reopened in phase one. The shock from the hack also coincided with nearly $810 million in net outflows from US spot crypto exchange-traded funds on the last trading day of October.
Timeline, compiled by KBVN+ from two VietnamPlus reports
- About 16:05 on 29 October US time (early 30 October in Vietnam): hackers stole an estimated $6.36 billion in digital assets from Binance's transaction-processing wallets, mostly within about 20 minutes. Binance suspended withdrawals.
- 30 October: major cryptocurrencies fell and money flowed out of US crypto ETFs.
- Later: Binance said it had committed more than $6.34 billion to buy back tokens equal to 90% of the stolen assets and pledged to compensate users in full.
- 1 November: withdrawals began reopening in stages, starting with Bitcoin, after Binance said the first phase would start between 06:00 and 09:00 GMT (13:00-16:00 in Vietnam).
The money came from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), its futures insurance fund and company capital. About 10% of the tokens have not yet been bought back because of low liquidity. Binance says it will absorb the loss rather than pass it on to customers. US President Donald Trump said US authorities are investigating the attack, described as possibly the largest crypto theft on record.
ETF outflows
Data from Farside Investors cited by VietnamPlus show US spot bitcoin, ether and solana ETFs had combined net outflows of $809.7 million on 30 October:
| Fund group / fund | Net outflow, 30 Oct | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spot bitcoin ETFs | $643.2 million | Reversal after 4 days of inflows totalling about $440.8 million; $202.4 million out for the week of 26-30 Oct |
| IBIT (BlackRock) | $233.7 million | Largest |
| FBTC (Fidelity) | $201 million | |
| ARKB (ARK Invest and 21Shares) | $129.5 million | |
| GBTC (Grayscale) | $53.3 million | |
| BITB (Bitwise) | $25.7 million | |
| Spot ether ETFs | $155.7 million | 5th straight day of outflows; $431.4 million for the week |
| Solana ETFs | $10.8 million |
VietnamPlus cautioned that the data do not prove all the outflows were caused directly by the Binance incident.
Industry response
Coinbase said it had adjusted its offline key storage, while Kraken is studying the case to improve its defences. The attack has renewed concerns about how well centralised exchanges protect customer assets, a reminder for Vietnamese users who hold crypto on international platforms.
What comes next
Binance is reopening networks and asset pairs in stages, prioritising tokens by user demand after stability and security checks. Buying back the remaining 10% of tokens could take longer, and the US investigation is continuing.