Crypto 31.10.2026: Binance Hack, BTC around $77,000

Global Crypto Market on 31st October: Market Stabilises Around $77,000 in the Shadow of the Binance Hack

On Friday, 31st October, the global cryptocurrency market attempted to stabilise following the mid-week Binance exchange hack, which, according to TRM Labs data (cited in The Cryptonomist's 30th October report), represents the largest theft of its kind in history in dollar terms. According to Koin Bülteni's 31st October summary (published at 06:15 UTC), Bitcoin traded around $77,284 (approximately -1.2%), while Ethereum was virtually unchanged at around $2,241. CoinGabbar, referencing CoinGecko data at 01:30 UTC, recorded slightly higher 24-hour figures (BTC +0.6%, ETH +2.2%), reflecting sharp intraday fluctuations and a partial rebound rather than contradictions. On a monthly basis, October was distinctly negative: according to 24/7 Wall St data, total market capitalisation decreased by approximately $360 billion in October to around $2.63 trillion. This article is a compilation of facts and an analysis of causes, not investment advice.

Market Overview

Bitcoin traded below the $78,000 threshold on Friday, 31st October. According to Koin Bülteni data (06:15 UTC), BTC was around $77,284 with approximately a -1.2% movement, while 24/7 Wall St recorded it at around $77,632 on the same day and indicated that this was approximately 38.43% below its all-time high ($126,080). CoinGabbar, referencing CoinGecko at 01:30 UTC, mentioned $77,367 with a +0.6% 24-hour movement, while noting a drop from $78,029 in the previous measurement. The differing directions are explained by various measurement times during the day when the price fluctuated in the $76,000-$78,000 range; according to The Cryptonomist, BTC briefly tested the approximately $76,300 support level on 31st October.

Ethereum was relatively stable on 31st October. Koin Bülteni described it as virtually unchanged at around $2,241, while CoinGabbar recorded a +2.2% 24-hour movement to $2,241. According to 24/7 Wall St data, ETH traded around $2,255 and lost approximately 16.5% overall in October, remaining approximately 54.41% below its all-time high. In the altcoin segment, a slight downturn dominated on 31st October: according to Koin Bülteni data, BNB was around $703 (-1.9%), XRP around $1.25 (-0.5%), Solana around $95.87 (-1.3%), Dogecoin around $0.0754 (-1%), while TRON showed a more pronounced drop around $0.3241 (-6%).

October's monthly performance reveals a broader picture. According to 24/7 Wall St's summary (30th September-30th October), the monthly performance of major assets was mostly negative: Bitcoin approximately -7.6%, BNB -8.5%, XRP -15.8%, Ethereum -16.5%, Solana -18.5%, and Dogecoin -19.7%. A positive exception was Monero (approximately +9.94% in 30 days), which the source linked to FinCEN's withdrawal of its crypto "mixing" regulation proposal in early October. Bitcoin dominance varied across sources depending on the methodology - CoinGabbar mentioned approximately 57.7%, while 24/7 Wall St approximately 59.23%. The market sentiment indicator (Fear & Greed Index) was 30 points ("fear") on 31st October, dropping from 51 a week earlier and 74 a month earlier, according to CoinGabbar data.

What Influenced the Market

The main cause of the day and week was the Binance exchange hack (detailed below in a separate section), which led to widespread risk reduction. In addition, a significant role was played by a decline in institutional flows. According to SoSoValue data, cited by crypto.news and 24/7 Wall St, US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced approximately $643.33 million in net outflows on 30th October - the largest single-day outflow since June - of which BlackRock IBIT accounted for approximately $233.7 million and Fidelity FBTC approximately $201 million, ending a four-session inflow streak. On a monthly basis, according to 24/7 Wall St data, Bitcoin ETF net outflows in October were approximately $515 million, while Ethereum ETFs lost significantly more - approximately $1.6 billion - and Cryptobriefing noted a prolonged series of Ethereum ETF outflows.

Structural pressure was intensified by liquidations of leveraged positions. According to Koin Bülteni data, positions worth approximately $403.67 million were liquidated in the 24 hours leading up to the morning of 31st October, affecting approximately 91,898 traders, of which long positions (betting on price increases) accounted for approximately 76.48%. The Cryptonomist and CoinGabbar mentioned total leveraged liquidations of approximately $1.53 billion during the broader downturn. In the macro background, the market was further affected by nervousness in the US stock market: several sources pointed to a sharp drop in Nasdaq, linked to concerns about the profitability of artificial intelligence investments. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was around 101.88 on 31st October, according to Koin Bülteni data.

As dated, but continuing macro context, it should be noted that the US Federal Reserve raised the base rate to the 3.75-4.00% range in September (according to 24/7 Wall St), and market participants are watching for a possible December decision; the nearest US inflation and monetary policy focus, according to Cryptoticker, is expected before 10th November. These factors are background, not individual events of 31st October.

Binance Hack

The central event of the reporting period was the Binance exchange hack. According to TRM Labs' analysis, cited in The Cryptonomist's 30th October report, the theft began on 29th October around 20:05 UTC, with most funds being withdrawn in approximately 20 minutes; in total, according to TRM Labs, approximately $6.36 billion was stolen from ten blockchains. Binance's own estimate spoke of an impact of approximately $6.3 billion, of which approximately $3 billion was frozen. Most of the losses related to the Ethereum network (approximately $3.79 billion), while in the Bitcoin segment, according to TRM Labs, approximately 18,270 BTC (approximately $1.47 billion) were withdrawn.

Binance's official incident announcement on 30th October stated that initial investigations indicated a compromised DevOps engineer's computer, through which the attacker gained access to a service container and submitted unauthorised withdrawal transactions; the exchange emphasised that there was no evidence of private key leakage from wallets. Technically, according to TRM Labs and Blockaid's assessment, the attacker used the EIP-7702 delegation mechanism to redirect Binance's "hot" wallet to malicious code. The suspension of deposits and withdrawals began around 00:30 GMT on 30th October.

Binance committed to fully covering user losses from the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) reserves and company funds; co-founder Yi He indicated that withdrawals would be gradually restored. By 1st November, according to The Cryptonomist, Binance reported that it had already replaced approximately 90% of the stolen assets. Stablecoin issuers also participated in the response: according to statements from the heads of the respective companies, Tether froze more than 1.567 billion USDT, Circle more than 800 million USDC, and Ripple helped stop approximately $200 million. In attributing blame, TRM Labs with high confidence and Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin ("possibly") pointed to the North Korea-linked group TraderTraitor. A contradictory analytical aspect should be noted: former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) publicly stated that in Bitcoin terms, the theft is smaller than the historical Mt. Gox case, although in dollar terms, it could be the largest to date, according to Chainalysis.

Exchange and Industry Events

In addition to the Binance incident, there were several dated events in the industry. According to CoinGabbar's 30th October reports, competing exchanges Gate, Bybit, and OKX publicly confirmed they were unaffected; OKX CEO Star described the incident as a "wake-up call" for the entire industry. On the same day, Kraken experienced a brief outage (connectivity and order issues approximately 10:42-11:42 UTC+8). Separately, CoinGabbar mentioned that Coinbase executives (Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, and Emilie Choi) created so-called 10b5-1 stock selling plans on 30th October, covering up to 13.6 million COIN shares (approximately $2.2 billion); such plans are pre-structured and not directly related to market movement.

As a slightly older, but dated regional event, the Indian Enforcement Directorate's 27th October raids in Bengaluru and Madhya Pradesh stand out, related to suspicions of unauthorised cross-border cryptocurrency transfers amounting to approximately 500 billion rupees (approximately $5.24 billion). We include this as context, not fresh news for 31st October.

Security Incidents

In addition to the Binance hack, several smaller-scale incidents were reported during the review period. On 31st October, Chainalysis discovered an AI-related breach of customer data (names and emails), emphasising that it was unrelated to the Binance incident and that there were no signs of investigation data or passwords being compromised. On 30th October, Aave and partners froze affected markets as a precautionary measure. Smaller-scale events include the Hifi Finance DAO takeover (losses of approximately $20,000), the suspension of Threshold Network tBTC issuance for security maintenance, and the termination of Iron Fish network support after the discovery of an inflation bug.

In a broader context, Chainalysis's 2026 statistics, mentioned in 31st October summaries, indicate that North Korea-linked attacks account for approximately 89% of annual theft losses, with an average loss per attack of approximately $185.65 million. These figures are a structural background, not individual events of the review day.

Context and Outlook

The Binance incident marks the culmination of the 2026 security landscape and will likely determine near-term market dynamics. The main factors to monitor are, firstly, the gradual restoration of Binance withdrawals and the exchange's promised detailed technical review and updated Proof of Reserves - these will test market confidence in the largest exchange. Secondly, the regulatory response: according to sources, the US Secret Service is cooperating with Circle in freezing funds, President Donald Trump announced he is evaluating the incident, and US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig cited it as an argument for cryptocurrency regulation. Thirdly, the resilience of institutional ETF flows after October's outflows, and fourthly, the US inflation and Federal Reserve policy background before 10th November.

Several observers indicate that after a sharp, incident-induced drop and high "fear" sentiment, the market may be susceptible to both further corrections and sharp rebounds, depending on how quickly confidence and liquidity are restored. In interpreting data, it should be noted that individual price and dominance figures for 31st October vary across sources due to measurement time and methodology. This article is an informative overview and should not be considered investment advice; always conduct your own research before making decisions.

Sources

• TRM Labs analysis (cited by The Cryptonomist) - "Bitcoin price drop deepens amid Binance security breach" (31.10.2026): https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/10/31/bitcoin-price-drop-binance-breach/
• The Cryptonomist - "Binance crypto hack losses" with TRM Labs data (30.10.2026): https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/10/30/binance-crypto-hack-losses/
• CoinGabbar - "Crypto News October 31: Bitcoin and ETH Rise After Binance Shock" (31.10.2026): https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-news-october-31-bitcoin-eth-price-binance-hack-update
• Koin Bülteni - "Bitcoin and Altcoins: Market Overview (October 31, 2026)" (31.10.2026, 06:15 UTC): https://koinbulteni.com/en/bitcoin-and-altcoins-market-overview-october-31-2026-291495.html
• 24/7 Wall St. - "The Crypto Market Lost $360 Billion in October" (31.10.2026): https://247wallst.com/investing/cryptocurrency/2026/10/31/the-crypto-market-lost-360-billion-in-october-which-of-the-10-biggest-coins-held-up-best/