US Secret Service teams up with Circle to recover funds stolen from Binance
The US Secret Service is working with Circle to recover funds stolen from Binance in a breach that drained approximately $6.3 billion in assets on October 29, 2026.
The breach hit Binance on October 29, 2026, with the attack reportedly unfolding within 20 minutes. Stolen assets moved across ten blockchains, complicating recovery efforts as each chain has its own tooling, exchanges, and escape routes for laundered funds.
Binance's Response
Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals after the breach and has pledged to tap its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to cover user losses. The exchange has set aside over $6.34 billion to cover losses tied to the hack, slightly exceeding the approximately $6.3 billion reportedly stolen.
Binance plans to repay users in the same tokens they lost, ensuring customers who held Bitcoin will receive Bitcoin back rather than a cash equivalent pegged to some arbitrary moment in time.
Stablecoins Lead Recovery
Circle froze over $800 million in USDC linked to the incident, acting in coordination with law enforcement. Tether took similar action, freezing around $1.57 billion in USDT. Combined, total frozen assets now approach approximately $3 billion, with most of that sum sitting in stablecoins.
The reason is structural. Circle and Tether issue their tokens centrally and keep the ability to blacklist addresses holding them.
Investigation and Attribution
The FBI is involved in the recovery effort alongside the Secret Service and Binance. Private-sector partners like Circle round out a response that looks more like a coordinated dragnet than a single investigation.
Some blockchain analysis firms have tied the theft to North Korean-linked actors, suggesting a group known as TraderTraitor may be responsible. However, this attribution has not been confirmed by the agencies leading the case.
Recovery Challenges Ahead
Bitcoin and Ether have no central issuer that can freeze them, making recovery of these assets more complicated. The eventual recovery rate is uncertain, as roughly half the stolen value has been frozen so far.
Recovering Bitcoin, Ether and similar tokens will require cooperation from other exchanges where funds surface, plus court actions across several jurisdictions. The success of this coordinated effort will determine how much of the $6.3 billion can ultimately be returned to affected users.
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