Key Takeaways
- • Santiment reports Bitcoin social sentiment fell to a 0.37 positive-to-negative comment ratio on Oct. 29-30, among the most negative readings on record, following Binance's $6.34 billion hack.
- • Binance-associated wallets recorded roughly 28,316 BTC in net outflows through Nov. 5, after withdrawals were suspended and reopened in stages from Nov. 1.
- • Binance's Bitcoin futures open interest stood near $8.97 billion and Ethereum's near $8.03 billion as of Nov. 5, indicating futures positions largely held despite the fear.
- • Santiment described the reduction in Binance futures positions as relatively orderly, and funding rates stayed predominantly positive within familiar ranges.
- • Binance said on Nov. 4 it had replaced approximately 98% of affected assets using company resources, with purchases of the remaining tokens ongoing.
Summary
Binance's $6.34 billion hack has driven heavy cryptocurrency withdrawals and some of the most negative Bitcoin social sentiment on record, while futures traders have maintained billions of dollars in positions, according to a Nov. 6 report from Santiment. The security breach occurred on Oct. 29.
Santiment recorded approximately 28,316 BTC in net outflows from Binance-associated wallets through Nov. 5. Withdrawals had initially been suspended before reopening in stages from Nov. 1. Across all exchanges the firm tracks, Bitcoin balances fell by 38,631 BTC, or 2.92%, between Oct. 25 and Nov. 5. Because the decline began four days before the breach, Santiment cautioned against attributing the entire movement to Binance. Exchange-flow readings showed 22,317 BTC and approximately 324,640 ETH in net outflows on Oct. 29, covering customer withdrawals and institutional transfers rather than a tally of stolen assets. USDT movements also continued, with roughly 1.71 billion USDT in net Ethereum exchange outflows on Oct. 29 and a larger 3.94 billion reading on Nov. 2. Santiment said these figures do not establish that all stablecoins were stolen or withdrawn from Binance.
Social sentiment deteriorated sharply. Bitcoin's positive-to-negative commentary ratio dropped to 0.37 during Oct. 29-30, meaning negative comments outnumbered positive ones by roughly 2.7 to one. Binance occupied all six positions on Santiment's top trending cryptocurrency stories list on Oct. 29.
Despite this fear, derivatives positions held. Binance's Bitcoin futures open interest stood near $8.97 billion by Nov. 5, and Ethereum's was around $8.03 billion. BNB futures open interest reached approximately $427 million, with the token trading near $692 at the time of the report. Santiment found Bitcoin funding rates remained predominantly positive and generally within familiar ranges. Although the firm did not describe sentiment as outright bullish, it said traders were not collectively taking unusually aggressive bearish positions. BNB spot trading was more pronounced during the initial response, with Oct. 29 volume reaching $3.78 billion, the highest daily reading since Feb. 5.
Ethena's ENA token saw unusually heavy withdrawal activity. On Oct. 29, Santiment counted 169 active withdrawal addresses in one hour, against roughly 20-25 during many surrounding hours, and 208.62 million ENA in net exchange outflows that day. Separately, the report cited approximately 217.5 million stolen ENA, worth roughly $40 million at the time, that attackers converted into Ethereum through decentralized platforms. Santiment noted that ENA lacks an issuer-controlled freezing mechanism comparable to those for USDT and USDC.
In its Nov. 4 recovery update, Binance said it had replaced approximately 98% of affected assets using company resources, with purchases of the remaining tokens continuing through markets and over-the-counter channels. Its new reserve snapshot covered 44 tokens, up from 10 previously, and generating the accompanying zero-knowledge proof was estimated to take 50-60 hours. Binance has also requested frozen assets from Arbitrum's DAO, seeking 8,425.997 ETH and 74.56 million ARB. The exchange estimated about 49 days for discussion, voting and execution, potentially longer if legal claims intervene. Its proposed indemnification agreements would apply New York law, with disputes assigned to state and federal courts in New York County.
Santiment recorded approximately 28,316 BTC in net outflows from Binance-associated wallets through Nov. 5. Withdrawals had initially been suspended before reopening in stages from Nov. 1. Across all exchanges the firm tracks, Bitcoin balances fell by 38,631 BTC, or 2.92%, between Oct. 25 and Nov. 5. Because the decline began four days before the breach, Santiment cautioned against attributing the entire movement to Binance. Exchange-flow readings showed 22,317 BTC and approximately 324,640 ETH in net outflows on Oct. 29, covering customer withdrawals and institutional transfers rather than a tally of stolen assets. USDT movements also continued, with roughly 1.71 billion USDT in net Ethereum exchange outflows on Oct. 29 and a larger 3.94 billion reading on Nov. 2. Santiment said these figures do not establish that all stablecoins were stolen or withdrawn from Binance.
Social sentiment deteriorated sharply. Bitcoin's positive-to-negative commentary ratio dropped to 0.37 during Oct. 29-30, meaning negative comments outnumbered positive ones by roughly 2.7 to one. Binance occupied all six positions on Santiment's top trending cryptocurrency stories list on Oct. 29.
Despite this fear, derivatives positions held. Binance's Bitcoin futures open interest stood near $8.97 billion by Nov. 5, and Ethereum's was around $8.03 billion. BNB futures open interest reached approximately $427 million, with the token trading near $692 at the time of the report. Santiment found Bitcoin funding rates remained predominantly positive and generally within familiar ranges. Although the firm did not describe sentiment as outright bullish, it said traders were not collectively taking unusually aggressive bearish positions. BNB spot trading was more pronounced during the initial response, with Oct. 29 volume reaching $3.78 billion, the highest daily reading since Feb. 5.
Ethena's ENA token saw unusually heavy withdrawal activity. On Oct. 29, Santiment counted 169 active withdrawal addresses in one hour, against roughly 20-25 during many surrounding hours, and 208.62 million ENA in net exchange outflows that day. Separately, the report cited approximately 217.5 million stolen ENA, worth roughly $40 million at the time, that attackers converted into Ethereum through decentralized platforms. Santiment noted that ENA lacks an issuer-controlled freezing mechanism comparable to those for USDT and USDC.
In its Nov. 4 recovery update, Binance said it had replaced approximately 98% of affected assets using company resources, with purchases of the remaining tokens continuing through markets and over-the-counter channels. Its new reserve snapshot covered 44 tokens, up from 10 previously, and generating the accompanying zero-knowledge proof was estimated to take 50-60 hours. Binance has also requested frozen assets from Arbitrum's DAO, seeking 8,425.997 ETH and 74.56 million ARB. The exchange estimated about 49 days for discussion, voting and execution, potentially longer if legal claims intervene. Its proposed indemnification agreements would apply New York law, with disputes assigned to state and federal courts in New York County.
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