As of 30 Oct 2026, the Binance breach and the Bybit hack are the two largest crypto thefts in the comparison most readers are making, but they are not the same size. Binance's estimated impact is about $6.3 billion from the 29 Oct 2026 breach, while Bybit lost $1.5 billion in 2025. On preliminary figures, the Binance incident is more than four times larger than Bybit's, and it is described as the largest crypto theft on record.

That size gap is the headline difference, yet it is not the only one. The Binance figures are still preliminary estimates, and the investigation is ongoing, so the final comparison may shift as more is confirmed. The Bybit figure, by contrast, is presented as the earlier record that Binance has now surpassed on those preliminary estimates.

The reported Binance mechanism is also distinct in the details available. The preliminary investigation says a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop may have let an attacker access a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions, with no evidence so far of a wallet private key leak. A wallet called Binance 14, in Binance's 1 Oct proof of reserves, was reportedly turned into a sweeper using the Ethereum feature EIP-7702, with about 204,500 ETH moved and ETH backing falling to near 94 percent from 100 percent.

No equivalent mechanism detail for Bybit is given in the available facts for this comparison, and none is invented here. The honest comparison therefore rests on what is actually reported for both cases: the loss size, the record status, and, for Binance, the preliminary mechanism and response described below.

Binance's stated response is a further point of contrast that can be reported factually. Co-CEO Yi He has said all losses will be covered from company funds plus the SAFU emergency fund, which holds about $1 billion in bitcoin, and that user funds are safe. Deposits and withdrawals were suspended as a precaution, with Yi He saying she expects withdrawal resumption to begin within the next 48 hours, although some reports say deposits were unaffected.

The freezing response for Binance is also unusually large in the reported figures. About $3 billion has been frozen so far, including $2.3 billion in USDT and USDC. Tether froze more than $1.567 billion in USDT, Circle froze about $823 million in USDC, Ripple froze about $200 million, and World Liberty Financial froze $27 million in USD1. No comparable frozen total for Bybit is supplied in the facts, so no direct recovery comparison is made.

Market reaction to the Binance breach was sharp. Bitcoin fell below $77,000, down about 4.5 percent in 24 hours to $76,664 and later about $77,984, ether fell about 3.2 percent, BNB fell about 3.9 percent, and more than $1 billion in leveraged positions was liquidated in 24 hours. Binance is described as the world's largest crypto exchange, which helps explain why its breach drew such a broad market reaction.

Attribution for Binance is an investigators' claim, not a court finding. TRM Labs traced the incident to the North Korean unit TraderTraitor, other trackers also pointed to North Korea, and Pyongyang has previously denied hacking allegations. The next proof-of-reserves snapshot, due on 1 November 2026, will show whether stolen assets were replaced, and readers should rely on official Binance channels for updates.

FAQ: Which hack was bigger? On preliminary estimates, Binance at about $6.3 billion is larger than Bybit at $1.5 billion in 2025. Is the Binance figure final? No, it is a preliminary estimate and the investigation is ongoing. What is the key Binance mechanism reported? A wallet called Binance 14 was reportedly turned into a sweeper using EIP-7702, moving about 204,500 ETH.