Tether freezes $971M USDT linked to suspected Binance hack
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The freeze highlights vulnerabilities in crypto exchanges, prompting scrutiny on security measures and the stability of digital asset markets.
Circle reportedly froze around $823 million in USDC as Binance investigates outflows from its hot wallets
Thu 29 Oct 2026 · 17:23 EDT · 2 min read
In Finance
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Tether has frozen approximately $971 million in USDT tied to suspected outflows from Binance’s hot wallets on October 29, 2026. Binance says it is investigating, and its founder has publicly said the situation looks like a hack.
Tether was not the only issuer to act. Circle reportedly froze around $823 million in USDC, putting more than $1.7 billion in stablecoins on ice between the two companies.
What we know so far
The freeze came after reports of large withdrawals from Binance hot wallets around October 29.
Binance has confirmed that its security team is looking into reports of a potential security issue. The exchange has not, based on available reports, formally declared a breach.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder, was more direct. CZ said the circumstances appear to suggest a hack.
He also praised Tether and Circle for moving quickly to freeze funds that may have been compromised.
Market reports point to billions of dollars in total movements out of Binance wallets tied to the incident. The exact size of the outflows has not been confirmed.
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The ripple effects hit traders too. Market observers reported that approximately $450 million in long positions were liquidated amid the turmoil.
How a stablecoin freeze actually works
Tether and Circle control the smart contracts behind their tokens. That gives them the ability to blacklist specific addresses. Once blacklisted, the tokens in those wallets can’t be moved.
For Tether, this is standard procedure. The company has an established practice of blacklisting addresses it suspects are connected to theft or other illicit activity.
A freeze is not the same as a refund, though. Locking tokens keeps them from going anywhere, but it does not automatically send them back to their original owners. Whether the funds can be recovered is still an open question.
The open questions
A lot remains unconfirmed. The full extent of the outflows is unclear, and it hasn’t been established that a hack definitively occurred.
Recovery prospects are also uncertain. Even with nearly $1.8 billion in stablecoins frozen, nobody has said how much of the moved value sat in those two assets versus other tokens that can’t be frozen the same way.
That distinction matters. If an attacker took a mix of assets, the frozen stablecoins may cover only part of the damage.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.