Binance Breach: Crypto Liquidations Exceed $1.5 Billion

Leveraged traders faced heavy losses as a reported $6.3 billion Binance security breach coincided with more than $1.5 billion in crypto liquidations. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP fell before some prices recovered.

CryptoMEV Bot NewsroomOct 30, 20263 min read

A man in a suit looks stressed while looking at financial charts on a laptop screen. — Image: Edwin.images / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Key takeaways

A reported Binance security breach affected approximately $6.3 billion in crypto assets.
CoinGlass snapshots recorded $1.54 billion to $1.55 billion in 24-hour liquidations, with long positions accounting for most losses.
Bitcoin fell below $77,000, while Ethereum briefly traded below $2,200; some prices recovered on Friday.

Leveraged cryptocurrency traders were the most affected group, with positions closed across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and other assets after a major Binance security incident. Binance reported a breach affecting approximately $6.3 billion in crypto assets, according to Crypto.news.

Binance breach hits $6.3 billion in assets

During its investigation, Binance halted withdrawals and pledged to cover customer losses. About $3 billion worth of affected assets had reportedly been frozen through cooperation with industry partners, Binance said, as its security checks continued. According to blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Elliptic, North Korea-associated hackers carried out the attack; at the stage covered by the initial reports, Binance had not publicly named those responsible.

Tokens other than Bitcoin and Ethereum were impacted as well. Uniswap and Aave fell around 11% on Thursday as blockchain investigators tracked stolen holdings being exchanged across several networks. Before the breach, markets were already dealing with concerns over US monetary policy: the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4%, and two officials backed an increase, according to the earlier report cited by Crypto.news.

Liquidations exceed $1.5 billion

CoinGlass data recorded approximately $1.55 billion in leveraged positions liquidated over 24 hours in the Crypto.news report. Roughly $1.34 billion of the total came from long positions. The report counted 246,482 liquidated traders during the period.

A separate Coinpedia snapshot, published before the Crypto.news report, recorded $1.54 billion in liquidations affecting 237,314 traders. In that snapshot, long positions represented $1.29 billion, or 83.8%, while short positions accounted for $252.83 million, or about 16.5%. The differing totals reflect separate reporting snapshots rather than a single reconciled figure, according to Coinpedia.

Bitcoin: approximately $499 million in liquidations.
Ethereum: $359.41 million in liquidations.
Solana: approximately $82.75 million in liquidations.
XRP: $38.46 million in liquidations.

Binance recorded approximately $754.6 million in liquidations in the Coinpedia snapshot, equal to 49.2% of the market-wide total. Coinpedia listed Hyperliquid at $31.71 million, while the separate Crypto.news snapshot listed $251.4 million for Hyperliquid and $186.5 million for Bybit. The largest individual forced closure involved an approximately $11 million Bitcoin long position on Binance.

Major assets and traders absorb losses

Bitcoin traded below $77,000 during Thursday's selloff. Friday brought a partial recovery toward $78,500 after an intraday trough that Crypto.news placed near $76,400; Coinpedia, by comparison, recorded a low of $76,460. Crypto.news also reported a late-Thursday price near $76,664.

Ether moved below $2,200 briefly before trading around $2,240 later. Solana touched $98 in the Coinpedia report, while Crypto.news reported it slipping toward $95. XRP declined to about $1.21 in the Crypto.news report, compared with a drop to $1.26 in the Coinpedia snapshot. BNB fell 7.1% to approximately $698.65, and Dogecoin traded near $0.075, according to Crypto.news.

The liquidation pressure reached exchange and strategy users as well as spot holders. Traders using leverage faced forced closures when collateral was insufficient to maintain positions. When prices were already declining, automatic liquidations could intensify the selloff; some short positions were also closed during Friday's partial recovery. For readers evaluating automated strategies, the Binance Arbitrage Bot and the Profitable Sandwich Bot for Crypto Trading are relevant examples of automated trading tools whose risk controls would face distinct exchange and liquidity conditions during such a selloff.

Recovery meets open exposure

As traders cut their exposure during the downturn, crypto futures open interest declined to approximately $136.3 billion, even as trading volume climbed 74%, according to Crypto.news. The reported recovery in Bitcoin and Ethereum remained below pre-selloff levels, so the episode left both price volatility and reduced leverage in the market.

Binance's response was to suspend deposits and withdrawals during security checks and pledge to cover losses. Industry partners had helped freeze about $3 billion in affected assets, Binance said, while the tracing of stolen funds continued.