Tether Freezes $1.5B in Binance Hack Funds Within 30 Minutes
Tether's rapid response to the October 29th Binance hack prevented North Korea from accessing over $1.5 billion in stolen USDT.
Tether's rapid response to the October 29th Binance hack prevented North Korea from accessing over $1.5 billion in stolen USDT. Tether (USDT) is trading at $0.9987. This is an original TLT brief synthesising 2 outlets (The Cryptonomist, CoinCodex), with their figures cross-checked, plus live market data, as of Mon, 02 Nov 2026 20:15:02 UTC.
The swift action by Tether demonstrates the effectiveness of stablecoin issuers in responding to major security incidents, protecting user funds and potentially deterring future attacks.
- Tether froze $1.5B in USDT within 30 minutes of the Binance hack.
- The FBI attributed the theft to North Korea.
- USDT circulating supply remains at $178.77B despite the freeze.
Multiple outlets, including The Cryptonomist and CoinCodex, confirm that Tether froze $1.5 billion in USDT within 30 minutes of the October 29th Binance hack. The Cryptonomist emphasizes the preventive measure against North Korea, while CoinCodex provides additional context on Tether's Q3 2026 financial performance, including $1.5 billion in quarterly profit and $7.95 billion in excess reserves. No discrepancies in the $1.5 billion freeze figure were found between the outlets.
- Binance Plans Gradual Resumption of Withdrawals Within 48 Hours Post-Hack
- Tether Freezes $1.567 Billion USDT Tied to Binance Cyberattack
- Ripple and World Liberty Freeze $227M Linked to Binance Hack
- US Authorities Freeze $2.37B in Binance Hack Funds with Stablecoin Issuers
- Binance Resumes Key Stablecoin and Token Withdrawals Post-Hack
- Tether Freezes $4.5M in USDT Tied to Mercado Bitcoin Security Breach
- Tether Freezes $1.5B in Binance Hack Funds Within 30 Minutes — this brief
On October 29, 2026, 
Tether took swift action to freeze over $1.5 billion in USDT that was stolen from Binance, according to a statement released on November 2. The stablecoin issuer acted within 30 minutes of the hack, preventing the funds from being accessed by the perpetrators.
The FBI identified North Korea as responsible for the theft, and Tether's intervention ensured that the stolen funds remained out of their reach. This rapid response highlights the critical role that stablecoin issuers can play in mitigating the impact of major security breaches in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The Cryptonomist and CoinCodex both corroborate the $1.5 billion freeze figure, with The Cryptonomist focusing on the preventive measure against North Korea, while CoinCodex provides additional financial context. CoinCodex's report on Tether's Q3 2026 performance shows the company generated $1.5 billion in quarterly profit and held $7.95 billion in excess reserves, underscoring its financial stability.
Despite the freeze, the circulating supply of USDT remains robust at $178.77 billion, according to DeFiLlama. This indicates that the freeze has not significantly impacted the overall availability of USDT in the market.
In the broader market context, the total cryptocurrency market cap stands at $2.65 trillion, with 
Bitcoin experiencing a 24-hour decline of 1.25%. The Fear & Greed Index is at 37, indicating a 'Fear' sentiment among investors. Tether's USDT is currently priced at $0.998816, with a minimal 24-hour change of -0.02%.
Since this brief published about 1 hour ago, Tether (USDT) has moved from $0.9988 to $0.9987 — -0.02%.
The chart plots USDT's price: grey is the move before this brief published, the vertical dashed line marks the moment it published, the horizontal dashed line is the price then, and the coloured area is the move since — from TLT's market data (daily resolution). It shows what happened after the news, not that the news caused it; many factors move prices. Not financial advice.
At today's peer-to-peer rate, 1 USDT ≈ ₦1,377.35 (about $0.9987), down 0.0% over 24 hours. The naira itself trades about 2.3% above the official rate on the P2P market, so a Nigerian buyer's effective cost differs from the headline dollar price.
Live market data
Current prices for the asset in this story — live, source-stamped, updated every 15 minutes.
1 key figure independently matched across 2 outlets reporting this story.
TLT extracts the figures each outlet reports and flags the ones that agree. Numbers cited by only one outlet are attributed in the brief, not shown as corroborated.
Figures and sectors in this story, checked live against on-chain aggregators · November 2, 2026.
TLT reads these figures directly from on-chain aggregators (DeFiLlama, mempool.space) at build time — independent of what any outlet reported. Sector totals aggregate every protocol DeFiLlama tracks in that category. Values are live and will change.
Tether Freezes $1.5B in Binance Hack Funds Within 30 Minutes — questions & answers
How much USDT did Tether freeze after the Binance hack?
Tether froze over $1.5 billion in USDT within 30 minutes of the hack.
Who was responsible for the Binance hack?
The FBI attributed the theft to North Korea.
What is Tether's current circulating supply?
USDT's circulating supply is $178.77 billion, per DeFiLlama.
How much is 1 Tether worth in naira today?
About ₦1,377.35 at the live peer-to-peer (P2P) USDT rate, which is what Nigerians typically trade at — equivalent to roughly $0.9987. The naira price moves with both USDT's US-dollar price and the USDT/NGN rate; use our Tether in naira page for any amount.
Which outlets reported this story?
This is an original TLT brief that synthesises reporting from The Cryptonomist, CoinCodex, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.
Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original TLT brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.