Binance Suffers Alleged $2.77 Billion Hack as Bitcoin Crashes Below $78,500 and $600 Million in Crypto Longs Are Liquidated

Bitcoin plunged below $78,500 on October 29, its lowest level in 40 days, as a cascade of selling wiped out more than $600 million in leveraged long positions within roughly 30 minutes. The sell-off accelerated in two waves: an initial breach of $80,000 triggered $130 million in liquidations within the first 30 minutes, followed by a steeper drop to $78,500 that pushed total long liquidations past $590 million in a single hour, according to Cointelegraph. Ether fell 3.82% to $2,258, Solana dropped below $96, and XRP slid under $1.25, with altcoins including BNB, SOL, UNI, and PEPE each posting losses of 3% to 7% on the day.

Two catalysts drove the crash. Reports that the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East had briefed President Trump on military options against Iran triggered the first leg lower. The sell-off then deepened sharply after reports emerged of a suspected hack on Binance, with blockchain data showing $2.77 billion in outflows across five chains from Binance wallets moving to an unlabeled address, sparking a $3 billion outflow figure cited by some trackers. Tether moved quickly, freezing $971 million in USDT linked to the suspected breach. As of the time of the reports, Binance had issued no official statement and had not confirmed any breach.

The Binance hack reports remain unconfirmed, and the simultaneous geopolitical shock created conditions for extreme panic selling and cascading liquidations across the leveraged crypto market. The tech stock selloff added further pressure. Bitcoin had since recovered toward the $82,500 area after Trump later ruled out an Iran strike before U.S. midterm elections, though ether remained roughly 9% lower on the week.