Binance said user funds were safe and that it was investigating a problem after reports that $2.77 billion had moved out of wallets tied to the exchange across five blockchains. The reported outflow, which has not been confirmed by Binance, came as its founder, Changpeng Zhao, said the situation looked like a hack.

Reported outflow, but no confirmed breach

Hashtelegraph said on October 29 that about $2.77 billion left Binance wallets within minutes, citing Walter Bloomberg. The report said the cause was not established and that the market was treating the movement as a possible hack, not a proven one.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe also warned traders to be careful after saying the platform may have been hacked for $2.8 billion. That was his assessment, not a statement from Binance.

Binance itself said on X that it was aware of a problem and was reviewing the matter. The company said user funds were safe and said it would provide more information after checking the available data.

Zhao expects users to be compensated

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and former director, said the exchange appeared to have been hit by a hack. He said he no longer runs Binance, but as a shareholder he expected all user funds to be fully compensated.

He also thanked Tether and Circle for freezing roughly $971 million and $823 million, respectively. Tether and Circle are major issuers of dollar-linked stablecoins, which are widely used in crypto trading and transfers.

The sources did not identify the blockchains involved, name the receiving addresses, or explain the transfer mechanism. That leaves open the central question of whether the movement was the result of a breach or an internal transfer.

Prices were already moving before the wallet report

The market was under pressure before the outflow report appeared. At 23:36 Moscow time on October 29, Crypto Rover said Bitcoin had fallen below $80,000 and Ethereum below $2,300, while more than $130 million in long positions had been liquidated over the previous 60 minutes.

By 23:47 Moscow time, Ash Crypto said Bitcoin had dropped below $79,000 for the first time in 40 days. That channel said $450 million in long positions had been liquidated over the previous half-hour, but the two liquidation figures cover different time windows and should not be added together.

The main issue now is whether Binance confirms a hack or explains the wallet movement as an internal transfer. That decision will shape how traders read the episode and whether the selling pressure continues.