October’s two incident counts were 56 major hacks and 95 incidents, while the gross-loss estimates were close at $6.48 billion and $6.49 billion.
The October tally of $6.48 billion was about 745% above September’s $766.49 million. For the 95-incident total, gross losses were $6.49 billion and adjusted losses were $3.46 billion after $3.03 billion in funds were frozen or returned. The counts are not directly comparable because they use different categories.
Binance estimated that its Oct. 29 incident affected about $6.34 billion in digital assets. The Binance estimate of affected assets is close to the monthly loss estimate, but the figures describe different measures: assets affected and estimated losses.
Binance put funds frozen or intercepted at about $2.85 billion, subject to reconciliation and market-price changes. It also said 98% of affected token assets had been replenished as of Oct. 31. Replenishment and funds frozen or intercepted are separate measures; the latter is not a confirmed recovery total.
Binance’s timeline places transfers from five hot wallets between 4:05 and 4:09 p.m. ET (20:05–20:09 UTC) on Oct. 29. It lists the final unauthorized transfer, 2,961.9 Ether (ETH), at 7:56 p.m. ET (23:56 UTC).
Binance’s preliminary account described unauthorized access to an internal wallet-signing service and a campaign involving social engineering, malicious downloads and compromised internal tools. The company said its investigation remains ongoing and its findings will undergo further independent review.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed more than $6 billion in virtual-asset theft to North Korea-linked activity it calls TraderTraitor.
Simon Yoon
Simon Yoon reports on blockchain technology for TokenPost. Send corrections or tips to [email protected].
