Circle freezes over $800 million in USDC tied to Binance hack

Following an October 29, 2026 security breach that drained $6.3 billion from Binance, stablecoin issuers including Circle and Tether froze over $2.5 billion in stolen funds in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service and FBI. Circle immobilized roughly $823 million in USDC, though its stock dropped 5.6% following the breach, while Bitcoin fell 4% to $78,000. Binance pledged to make users whole using its $6.34 billion SAFU reserve, paying out in-kind tokens.

Stablecoin freezes following the hack

• ▪Circle froze over $800 million in USDC tied to the October 29, 2026 Binance breach that drained approximately $6.3 billion, with the exact figure later specified as approximately $823 million
• ▪Tether froze over $1.5 billion in USDT tied to the October 29, 2026 Binance hack, while Ripple froze $200 million in RLUSD and World Liberty Financial froze $27 million in USD1

Law enforcement coordination and tracing

• ▪The U.S. Secret Service and the FBI established a recovery partnership with Circle and Binance to trace stolen assets
• ▪Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated on social media that their companies coordinated directly with law enforcement agencies on the stablecoin freezes tied to the Binance breach

Binance breach and initial response

• ▪Binance suffered a security breach that drained approximately $6.3 billion in assets
• ▪Binance temporarily suspended customer withdrawals immediately following the October 29, 2026 security breach that drained approximately $6.3 billion in assets

Cryptocurrency market price reaction

• ▪The broader cryptocurrency market experienced immediate price volatility after news of the $6.3 billion Binance breach broke on October 29, 2026
• ▪Bitcoin dropped more than 4% to approximately $78,000 following news of the $6.3 billion Binance breach on October 29, 2026

Impact on Circle stock value

• ▪Market reports noted that public investors treated Circle's proximity to the October 29, 2026 Binance breach as a commercial risk despite its compliance efforts
• ▪Shares of Circle fell between 5% and 5.6% in after-hours trading following the $6.3 billion Binance breach