Coinbase Steps In as Binance Reports $3 Billion Frozen

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says his exchange is helping Binance block transfers to wallets linked to the breach and has offered direct support. His October 29 message urged crypto firms to work together and put customer protection first. Binance’s latest reported total of frozen assets is about $3 billion, up from $2.54 billion in earlier updates. ^1,2

Binance said it was looking into a possible security issue and working with law enforcement, token issuers and other firms to trace funds. Stablecoin companies Tether and Circle froze related assets, as did Ripple and World Liberty Financial. The Arbitrum Security Council separately froze about $30.5 million. Binance has not publicly confirmed how much was stolen, while former chief Changpeng Zhao said the incident looked like a hack. ^2,3,5

The $3 billion in frozen assets does not show how much attackers may have taken or how they got in. Binance says it will cover all losses and that user funds are safe, but deposits and withdrawals remain suspended during security checks. The pause affects customers who need to move money through the exchange, while bitcoin fell during the incident. The scale of the response shows how firms that compete for customers can still work together to stop funds moving. ^1,3,7

Transfers will resume only after Binance resolves the issue, the company said. It also plans to share a full report once its investigation is complete, while Armstrong has asked other crypto firms to help where they can. For now, Binance is tracing assets and working with partners; the amount it can freeze may still change. ^1,7