Chainalysis: Hackers using 'never-seen-before laundering patterns'
US blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has spotted that the hackers behind the Binance theft are using “ never-seen-before” patterns to launder the stolen assets and stay ahead of the authorities.
They report that thousands of transactions have taken place in a short period, suggesting the attackers are using automation to obscure the trail of funds.
Rather than simply moving funds onward, they repeatedly circulate them among addresses, often sending funds back to addresses involved earlier in the sequence.
Chainalysis explains:
Binance: We're conducting a full security review
Richard Teng adds that Binance is rebuilding its withdrawal service.
It will not be switched back on until it passes “rigorous testing”, he says, but adds that he’s “very hopeful” that users will be able to withdraw funds prior to the Sunday deadline.
Binance is also conducting a full security review, he continues.
And, the company intends to publish a proof of reserves report by Monday.
Binance: This was a complex attack
Richard Teng then confirms, in his video message, that the hack appears to have involve a compromised laptop – as reported a few hours ago.
However, he then reveals that Binance’s investigation has also uncovered “additional points of breach”.
Teng says
Binance's Teng: We're working 'hand in hand' with global law enforcement
Binance has released a new video message from co-CEO Richard Teng.
Teng starts by thanking Binance’s users for their “patience and understanding”, as well as partners who froze assets stolen in the hack.
Teng says Binance is working “hand in hand” with global law enforcement “to seek justice”.
He says:
The good news is that Binance is recoving stolen assets for users, Teng adds.
He also explains that the hack hit Binance’s own ‘hot wallet’.
The “vast majority” of customer funds are held in ‘cold wallets’ and are moved to a hot one when a user makes a withdrawal, he explains.
[A hot wallet is one that is connected to the internet, while cold wallets remain offline where they should be protected from online hackers.]
FBI: We're engaged with partners over Binance hack
The FBI has now confirmed it is looking into the Binance security breach.
The FBI said in a statement, via Reuters, that it was “aware of the incident and is engaged with relevant public and private partners to understand the scope of the activity, evaluate potential impacts, and coordinate appropriate investigative steps”.
Strategy chair (and bitcoin zealot) Michael Saylor says Binance needs to deliver on its promise to compensate customers affected by the hack
Posting on X (as his company’s share price drops around 10%), Saylor explains:
As Strategy owns around 848,000 bitcoin, it needs this to happen!
Earlier today the cofounder and former CEO of Binance asked Elon Musk not to “troll” the company, and instead “show some support”.
Changpeng Zhao appeared to be riled by Musk posting several emojis in response to posts on X about the hack.
That included a grimace in reply to a post reminding peopl that collapsed crypto exchange FTX had, like Binance today, said it had enough funds to cover clients’ holdings.
In response, CZ reminded Musk that Binance owns a stake in his SpaceX business:
Binance’s chief customer service officer Yi He weighed in too, saying:
The tech-focused Nasdaq is also suffering early losses: it’s down 2.5%.
Chip stocks are leading the sell-off, after Intel startled Wall Street last night with surprisingly weak financial forecasts.
Shares in Intel, which warned of a “slowdown” in the PC market, have plunged by almost 29% in early trading, with rival AMD (-9.3%) and chip designed ARM (-9.9%) close behind.
Shares in companies exposed to the crypto world are dropping sharply at the start of trading in New York.
Coinbase, the US crypto exchange, are down 11.5% at the start of trading.
Strategy, which pioneered the idea of being a Bitcoin treasury company are down 10%.
Explainer: The Binance hack
You’ve probably got a lot of questions about the mult-billion dollar theft of crypto assets at Binance – and we have some answers!
Here’s our explainer on what could be the biggest theft of any kind in history:
The attack does not currently appear to pose a significant solvency risk for Binance, according to Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors.
Farrell said (via CNBC):
There’s a risk that bitcoin drops to levels hit in the summer, warns David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
Back in July, Bitcoin slipped as low as $60,000, just half its all-time high, as this chart of the year’s action shows:
FBI and US Secret Service 'working with Binance' after $6.3 billion hack
Binance is working with law enforcement around the world, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service (USSS), after hackers stole a record $6.3bn from the platform, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Bitcoin is dipping lower – it’s now down 1.85% today at $77,374, adding to last night’s 3% drop.
That might indicate some nervousness about holding crypto assets…
…except some non-crypto assets are also weaker today. Spot silver, for example, is down 4% and just dropped below the $50/oz level for the first time since November 2025.
The Binance hack shows the perils of accidentally clicking on a rogue link, argues Suzy Pallett, president of international cybersecurity conference Black Hat,
[as covered earlier, the hack appears to have been perpetrated through a “compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop”, though Binance insist it was a more complex attack process than just a single click…]
Hit by the Binance hack? Let us know!
Alexander Shirtcliff, head of commercial disputes and class actions at legal firm Edwin Coe, suggests Binance customers might need to consider legal action to recover losses:
Although Binance insists it has “publicly committed to cover losses”, Edwin Coe suggests “blandishments” from the board of Binance are largely for press consumption.
Shirtcliff says:
Shirtcliff also suggests there could be litigation concerning who owns the assets which have been frozen since the hack was discovered.
Binance promises to 'weather this storm' as asset recovery begins
Binance has announced that it has “begun recovering affected assets for users” lost in the heist.
It says it is working with law enforcement, issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace, freeze and recover additional funds.
Binance explains that it will use its own reserves of crypto assets to cover losses where possible, and buy other assets in the market:
