For holders weighing exchange custody, the central question is how customer assets are protected—and what an exchange’s assurances actually cover. In reporting published by The Block on Nov. 5, 2026, at 00:57:39 UTC+8, Coinbase said it was unaffected by Binance’s reported $6.3 billion breach and described its safeguards. Those statements concern exchange-held assets, not a self-custody arrangement.
What Coinbase said about customer funds
In a blog post published Wednesday, Coinbase said it keeps more than 99% of customer assets in cold storage. It also described using distributed private keys, withdrawal limits and anomaly detection to protect funds against unauthorized transfers.
The exchange said customer assets:
- Are held on a 1:1 basis.
- Remain customer property.
- Are not lent or used without customer authorization.
Coinbase said advancing artificial intelligence capabilities are rapidly changing the security landscape and that it would continue investing in security innovation. These are Coinbase’s descriptions of its custody practices and commitments; the supplied report does not establish that they eliminate custody risk.
Binance reported approximately 98% replenishment
According to the report, Binance was exploited for $6.3 billion on Oct. 29, 2026. Binance said Tuesday that hackers used a fake job interview and an internal AI tool to assist the breach.
On Wednesday, Binance said it had replenished approximately 98% of the affected assets. It said it was acquiring the remaining 2% through market and over-the-counter channels, with lower liquidity making those purchases take longer. Replenishment should not be confused with a claim that the stolen assets themselves had been recovered.
Binance also said it expanded its Proof of Reserves coverage from 10 tokens to 44. A new zero-knowledge proof was expected to take 50 to 60 hours to generate.
Binance cofounder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao called Tuesday for AI-based defenses and an industry alliance to share lessons and freeze stolen funds faster.
A practical distinction for long-term holders
The custody details worth separating here are where assets are stored, how transfers are controlled, and what the exchange says about ownership and use of customer funds. Coinbase’s cold-storage statement addresses one part of that picture; its withdrawal controls and customer-asset commitments address others. Binance’s replenishment figures, meanwhile, describe its reported response to a breach—not proof that the breach carried no consequences.