Cryptocurrency exchange (Credits: CoinDesk)
Institutional crypto investors are rushing to withdraw digital assets from centralized exchanges following Thursday’s multibillion-dollar Binance hack, according to people familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk.
The withdrawals suggest the fallout is spreading well beyond the world’s largest crypto exchange, putting the security of assets held on trading platforms back in focus. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private, and said investors are looking to rebalance trading books in the wake of the hack.
Why Institutional Investors Are Pulling Funds From Exchanges After the Binance Hack
Binance estimated that about $6.3 billion in assets were stolen in the attack, with roughly $3 billion subsequently frozen. The exchange suspended withdrawals, while co-CEO Yi He said it would cover all losses from the hack.
The exact amount institutional investors are withdrawing across exchanges — and where those funds are going — was not immediately clear. But centralized exchanges hold customer assets and facilitate trading, making them core infrastructure for institutional investors — and the Binance breach highlights the exposure that comes with leaving balances on a trading venue, where a single security failure can put assets at risk and interrupt access to funds.
Crypto Exchange Security Risks Under Spotlight Again
Even before the Binance breach, security was deteriorating across the industry: security firm CertiK recorded $1.28 billion in losses in the third quarter of 2026, up nearly 56% from the previous quarter.
Also Read: $6.3 Billion Binance Hack Sends Bitcoin to Six-Week Low, Standard Chartered Sees More Pain Ahead and North Korea’s Lazarus Group Likely Behind Binance Hack, Blockchain Sleuths Say
Source: CoinDesk — read the full story there.
