The US Secret Service is working with Circle to recover funds stolen from Binance in a breach on October 29. Stablecoin freezes cover most of the frozen assets, while assets without a central issuer remain harder to reach.
The US Secret Service confirmed on October 30, 2026 that it is working with Circle to claw back funds stolen from Binance. The breach, which happened one day earlier, drained approximately $6.3 billion in assets from the exchange.
What happened at Binance
The attack hit Binance on October 29, 2026 and reportedly unfolded within 20 minutes. The stolen assets moved across ten blockchains.
Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals after the breach. The exchange pledged to tap its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and has set aside over $6.34 billion to cover losses. It plans to repay users in the same tokens they lost.
Stablecoin issuers freeze funds
Circle froze over $800 million in USDC linked to the incident, acting in coordination with law enforcement. Tether took similar action and froze around $1.57 billion in USDT. Total frozen assets now approach approximately $3 billion, and most of that sits in stablecoins.
The reason is structural. Circle and Tether issue their tokens centrally and can blacklist addresses holding them. Bitcoin and Ether have no issuer, so no company can freeze them. The FBI is also involved in the recovery effort alongside the Secret Service and Binance.
Attribution remains unconfirmed
Some blockchain analysis firms have tied the theft to North Korean-linked actors. Analysts have suggested a group known as TraderTraitor may be responsible. The agencies leading the case have not confirmed that attribution.
Roughly half the stolen value has been frozen so far. Much of the remainder sits in assets with no central issuer able to step in. Recovering Bitcoin, Ether and similar tokens may require cooperation from other exchanges and court actions across several jurisdictions.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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