Billions of dollars in crypto assets were reportedly stolen in separate hacks targeting Binance and Polymarket, triggering a market selloff and raising fresh concerns over digital asset security worldwide.

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The cryptocurrency industry faced one of its most turbulent days this Thursday as reports of massive security breaches involving Binance and Polymarket triggered sharp market declines, widespread panic among investors, and renewed concerns over the security of digital asset platforms.

While Binance investigated what could become the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, Polymarket temporarily halted operations following a cyberattack linked to a third-party service provider.

RELATED: Artificial Intelligence Pioneers Call for International Body to Oversee Cybersecurity Standards

The crisis began when reports emerged suggesting that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, had suffered a major security breach. Initial estimates indicated that nearly $600 million in crypto liquidations occurred across exchanges within a single hour as traders rushed to reduce risk amid growing uncertainty.

We are working non-stop to resolve this issue. Binance will cover all losses.

As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while our team conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement.

We are working around the clock and will… pic.twitter.com/zufWJ6V05D

— Binance (@binance) October 30, 2026

As the situation unfolded, blockchain analysts reported that wallets allegedly tied to the attackers had received digital assets worth more than $5.5 billion. Later disclosures suggested that the amount associated with the incident could exceed $5.7 billion across multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, and USDC.

The market reaction was immediate. Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 threshold, while Binance Coin (BNB), the exchange’s native token, dropped sharply. Other major cryptocurrencies also recorded significant losses as investors sought safety amid fears of a systemic security event affecting one of the sector’s most important institutions.

Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ and the founder of Binance, stated that the available information appeared to indicate that the platform had suffered a hack. Although no longer involved in the day-to-day management of the company, Zhao expressed hope that all customer funds would ultimately be protected.

Binance, for its part, sought to reassure users, stating that customer assets remained secure and urging the community to remain vigilant against scams and phishing attempts that often proliferate during high-profile security incidents. The company also temporarily suspended several Binance Alpha services, including CEX Buy Token, Alpha Instant, and predictive trading-related functions linked to spot wallet funds.

As investigators worked to determine the full scope of the breach, Binance announced that approximately $2.54 billion worth of assets had already been frozen through emergency security measures. The exchange emphasized that only verified information would be released as the investigation continued.

We are aware of differing figures circulating publicly regarding the amount frozen, including references to $1.8 billion.

For clarity, the current verified total frozen is $2.54 billion. This figure may continue to increase as our teams work closely with law enforcement,… pic.twitter.com/Kx68qptfXk

— Binance (@binance) October 29, 2026

The turmoil was compounded by a separate cyberattack targeting Polymarket, one of the world’s most prominent prediction market platforms. The company temporarily suspended trading operations for nearly an hour after identifying a security incident involving an external service provider.

According to reports, attackers may have exploited a vulnerability connected to DebugBear, a third-party performance and analytics tool used by the platform. The breach allegedly resulted in the theft of roughly $2.65 billion to $2.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from user wallets, making it one of the largest incidents ever reported in the prediction market sector.

Following the attack, Polymarket notified British authorities, as preliminary information suggested the operation may have originated from the United Kingdom. At the same time, users reported missing funds and emptied wallets across community channels, raising concerns about the broader implications of third-party software vulnerabilities within the crypto ecosystem.

Despite the disruption, Polymarket moved quickly to restore operations and pledged to compensate affected users. In public statements, the company promised to reimburse all verified losses, an effort aimed at restoring confidence and preventing a prolonged loss of trust among traders.

POLYMARKET HALTS TRADING AFTER HACKERS DRAIN USER FUNDS WITHOUT PASSWORDS OR SEED PHRASES

Attackers allegedly exploited users’ active sessions to sell their positions and withdraw funds directly through Polymarket’s own system.

The attack reportedly originated from a… pic.twitter.com/GJB7MTrBfH

— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) October 29, 2026

Security Under Fire

The dual incidents have reignited a longstanding debate over cybersecurity standards in the cryptocurrency industry. For years, exchanges and digital asset platforms have promoted increasingly sophisticated security systems, yet the scale of the reported losses at Binance and Polymarket suggests that even major players remain vulnerable to large-scale attacks.

If confirmed at the estimated levels reported by analysts and security firms, the Binance breach would surpass all previous cryptocurrency thefts on record, marking a pivotal moment for the digital asset industry. Combined with the Polymarket attack, the events of October 29 erased billions of dollars in market value, exposed potential weaknesses in platform security infrastructure, and highlighted the systemic risks that continue to accompany the rapid growth of the global cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The cyberattack has renewed warnings about cybersecurity protections, investor confidence and risks associated with the use of digital financial platforms.

As investigations continue, regulators, security experts, and investors alike will be watching closely to determine not only how the attacks occurred, but also what they reveal about the resilience of the crypto industry in an era of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

In Kyiv, multiple Russian ballistic missiles struck just after 10 p.m. local time. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, warehouse buildings in the city's Darnitsky district were struck, starting fires.

The incident occurred before the regular opening of the Johannismühle Wildlife Park south of Berlin, during a zookeeper day for children.

The incident occurred before the regular opening of the Johannismühle Wildlife Park south of Berlin, during a zookeeper day for children.

The company says an unnamed third-party provider was compromised. Trading has resumed, and Polymarket says affected traders will be made whole.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman said to plead guilty to 9 counts of hate-crime offenses, 3 explosives charges in federal court for 2025 firebombing in Colorado; already serving life for murder

Key developments on Oct. 28:

• 'Russia's mass murder:' Drone strike on Dnipro station kills 14 amid deadly daytime attacks on Chernihiv, Kremenchuk
• Ukraine destroys 2 Russian Su-34 bomber jets in Neptune missile strike on airfield, Navy says
• Route demining completed in Russian-occupied Oleshky as humanitarian convoy

The Pentagon is treating a string of freezer malfunctions at U.S. military base commissaries in late August as a suspected cyberattack, according to four officials familiar with the matter. Investigators are working with officials in France where a widespread cyberattack on supermarket freezers caused millions of dollars worth of damage.

The post Pentagon Investigates Military Base Freezer Failures as Cyberattack appeared first on Breitbart.

Ukraine’s National Bank said on Oct. 29 that the country’s economy will shrink by 0.4% this year, after revising its previous forecast of 1.8% growth.

Overnight, Russian forces launched 112 attack drones, 40 of the jet-powered, at Ukraine, according to the Air Force.

Despite the air raid alert and announcements of a heightened threat, people remained on the platform, Ukrainian railways added.

Jesse Adams, founder of the Canadian organization RainCoast Dog Rescue Society, was killed by a Russian FPV drone while evacuating animals from front-line Kramatorsk.

According to the mayor, over 100 drones have been shot down en route to Moscow during the night thus far.

U.S. federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who presided over the criminal case against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, died Wednesday at the age of 92, and his pending cases will pass to another judge.

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Alvin K. Hellerstein died Wednesday at 92 of natural causes after nearly three decades presiding over high-profile matters. He had led the penal process against President Maduro and Cilia Flores since the two were kidnapped on January 3 during a U.S. military incursion into Venezuelan territory.

Ed Friedland, administrative director of the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the death.

RELATED: Global Manifesto Demands Immediate Freedom for President Maduro and Cilia Flores

Hellerstein held the role for nearly three decades. He was appointed in 1998 by then U.S President Bill Clinton to the Southern District of New York, considered one of the most significant federal tribunals in United States.

BDE: Longtime Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, an Orthodox Jew appointed by President Clinton in 1998, has died at 92, according to a court spokesperson. He was overseeing the prosecution of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/w0nHyrcwc2

— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) October 28, 2026

A New Judge

The federal case against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has a new judge. Analisa Torres will preside over the Southern District of New York proceedings after the death of Alvin K. Hellerstein, court records confirmed Wednesday.

The tribunal posted a document covering the reassignment of matters “previously assigned to judges no longer serving due to retirement or death.” The notice names Torres as the magistrate now handling the file.

The court’s standard procedure produced the transition. A docket left by a deceased judge passes to a colleague, assigned without public choice. The reassignment document makes no special provision for the President Maduro file, treating it like every other pending matter.

Analisa Torres was born in New York in 1959. She reached the federal bench in 2013 by appointment of President Barack Obama, and she has since presided over a wide range of civil, criminal, and regulatory matters.

Her path runs deep in the law. Descended from a family of Puerto Rican judges, she graduated with honors from Harvard, earned her doctorate at Columbia Law School, and worked in private firms before entering the courts. Before her federal appointment she sat for almost a decade on the New York State Supreme Court. Earlier she served on the city’s civil and criminal benches.

New judge on the Maduro case is Analisa Torres, a Barack Obama appointee who took the bench in 2013. https://t.co/y37dLBuXia pic.twitter.com/YmbF6pAm7A

— Erik Uebelacker (@Uebey) October 28, 2026

June Trial Still Scheduled

The trial against the Venezuelan President and his wife remains set for June 14, 2027. The judge’s death did not alter that date, and the schedule already fixed by the court holds.

On October 15, President Maduro and Flores appeared at a judicial hearing in New York after prosecutors tightened the accusations against them. The two listened to the arguments and pleaded “not guilty” to the new charges of alleged conspiracy to commit torture brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

That same day Hellerstein accepted a request presented by both the prosecution and the defense to postpone the start of the trial by two weeks. The extra time allows both sides to present pretrial motions.

The next hearing was programmed for December 17. On that date the defense will argue its motions to dismiss the case. The outcome of those arguments could reshape the proceeding before it reaches a jury. President Maduro’s lawyers affirmed that sovereign immunity shields the President from prosecution in a foreign court.

Hellerstein’s career extended far beyond this single file. Over nearly three decades on the federal bench he supervised a wide variety of matters, including the litigation tied to the September 11 attacks.

That new judge will inherit the pretrial motions, the pending defense requests, and the responsibility of presiding over a trial that involves a sitting head of State and his spouse.

Venezuelan authorities have characterized the detention of President Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores as a kidnapping carried out during a military incursion into sovereign territory. The December 17 hearing stands as the next concrete step in a process scheduled to stretch into mid 2027.

Two community health workers trying to spread awareness of Ebola in the eastern Congo were attacked by a machete-wielding mob on Friday, further demonstrating the difficulty of controlling the deadly disease among hostile and suspicious rural residents as the total number of cases surpassed 10,000.

The post Ebola Workers in Congo Attacked by Machete Mob as Cases Pass 10,000 appeared first on Breitbart.

An unidentified minor wounded a Serbian policeman guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade with a knife before being shot dead during the early morning hours of Wednesday in what Interior Minister Ivica Dacic described to international outlets as a suspected terrorist attack.

The post Serbia: Minor Yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ Attacks Israeli Embassy Officer Before Being Shot Dead appeared first on Breitbart.

During those days, Ukrainian forces acted "a little more cautiously," but were not ordered to refrain from responding to Russian strikes, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Indian national reportedly detained by immigration authorities after alleged fraud; case against accused gunman in Bondi Beach terror attack adjourned until February

A food delivery driver was attacked in the early hours of Wednesday in Limassol.

The 22-year-old driver told the police that at around 3am, when riding a bicycle on Ayia Phylaxeos street to deliver an order, he was approached by four individuals on two black motorcycles.

One of the individuals punched the driver’s helmet.

The perpetrators then snatched the driver’s wallet and fled in an unknown direction.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 78 offences after allegedly committing a terrorist act. The case has been adjourned until February

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The criminal case against Naveed Akram for his alleged role in the Bondi terror attack faces more delays after an “unprecedented” investigation by the joint counter-terrorism team.

The matter will not return to court until 24 February after it was adjourned on Wednesday before Sydney’s Downing Centre local court. Prosecutors expect to be ready to certify the charges against Akram, who is yet to enter a plea, by that date.

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© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP

© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP

© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP