Elon Musk

SAFU

Major

<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/binance-cites-1b-spacex-stake-after-elon-musk-mocks-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance</a><a href="https://x.com/binance/status/2116089661408108712" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a> it will cover all losses from Thursday's <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/binance-major-shareholder-says-user-funds-are-safe-after-reported-2-5b-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$6.3 billion breach</a> "from the SAFU fund and the company's funds."
It <a href="https://x.com/binance/status/2116121748555153621" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> Friday that it has already reserved $6.34 billion in company money to make users whole.
The emergency fund behind that promise, the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), holds 15,000 bitcoin in a single public wallet as of Friday morning, blockchain data from <a href="https://mempool.space/address/1BAuq7Vho2CEkVkUxbfU26LhwQjbCmWQkD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">mempool.space</a> shows.
At Friday morning's bitcoin price near $77,700, that is about $1.17 billion, less than a fifth of the estimated impact.
Binance's own <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/detail/028799e730294ae4a9b382d60d350116" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FAQ</a>, last updated Feb. 2, describes the fund as "approximately US$1 billion."
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 Exclusive: Binance CMO says crypto will be “omnipresent” (4:27)
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<h2 id="what-the-faq-says">What the FAQ says</h2>
Binance created SAFU in 2018, funding it with a percentage of trading fees.
The name traces to founder Changpeng Zhao's "funds are safe" reassurance and the "Funds Are Safu" meme that followed.
Today the fund is held and managed by Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, a clearing house regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Market's (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).
The same <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/detail/028799e730294ae4a9b382d60d350116" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FAQ</a> says "a portion of these funds are used as capital reserves as part of Binance's regulatory obligations" in ADGM.
It does not say how large that portion is.
<figure><img src="https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_675%2Cw_1200/MjI3Mjc5NzgyMjg5NjEzODU1/screenshot-2026-10-30-191240.png" height="675" width="777">
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 Binance <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/detail/028799e730294ae4a9b382d60d350116" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FAQ</a> says "a portion of these funds are used as capital reserves as part of Binance's regulatory obligations" in ADGM but doesn't reveal how large that portion is. Source: Binance FAQ; captured Oct. 30, 2026.
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Binance also "retains full discretion" over which losses and claims qualify, and can change the fund's intended use at any time.
Claims must be filed with Binance Support within 90 days of the loss.
If the fund's market value falls below $800 million due to BTC price fluctuations, Binance says it will rebalance it back to $1 billion.
<figure><img src="https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_675%2Cw_1200/MjI3Mjc5Nzk4OTMyNjEyMTI3/screenshot-2026-10-30-191343.png" height="675" width="718">
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 Binance's <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/detail/028799e730294ae4a9b382d60d350116" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FAQ</a> gives it discretion over SAFU claims, sets a 90-day claims window and describes an $800 million rebalancing trigger. Source: Binance FAQ; captured Oct. 30, 2026.
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<h3 id="more-on-binance-hack">More on Binance hack:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/binance-major-shareholder-says-user-funds-are-safe-after-reported-2-5b-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance major shareholder says user funds are safe after $3B hack</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/binance-cites-1b-spacex-stake-after-elon-musk-mocks-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Binance major shareholder cites $1B SpaceX stake after Elon Musk mocks hack</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/im-with-elon-musk-on-binances-hack" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">I'm with Elon Musk on Binance's hack</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="what-is-visible-in-the-wallets">What is visible in the wallets</h2>
The bitcoin wallet Binance publishes held 15,000 BTC as of 9:19 a.m. ET Friday, per <a href="https://mempool.space/address/1BAuq7Vho2CEkVkUxbfU26LhwQjbCmWQkD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">mempool.space</a> - about $1.17 billion.
That balance is what is visible on-chain, not proof of what Binance can deploy at once.
The second published wallet, for USDC, holds about $2, Ethereum blockchain <a href="https://etherscan.io/address/0x420ef1f25563593aF5FE3f9b9d3bC56a8bd8c104" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a> shows. It is effectively empty.
How much of the fund is immediately deployable is not disclosed.
The FAQ's regulatory-capital language means an unknown slice of SAFU may be committed to Binance's ADGM license.
Binance has not said whether deploying it requires approval.
The FSRA <a href="https://www.adgm.com/media/announcements/fsra-statement-regarding-security-incident-involving-binance" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> Friday it is aware of the incident and is "engaging closely with Binance and monitoring."
<h3 id="more-on-thstreet-roundtable">More on ThStreet Roundtable:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/innovation/coinbase-ceo-wants-to-kill-monthly-subscriptions-one-article-at-a-time" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Coinbase CEO wants to kill monthly subscriptions, one article at a time</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/major-exchange-suddenly-halts-withdrawals-amid-hack-risks" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Major exchange suddenly halts withdrawals amid hack risks</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/retail/mcrib-is-back-and-fans-are-again-falling-for-its-favorite-superstition" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">McRib is back and fans are again falling for its favorite superstition</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="what-cz-said">What CZ said</h2>
"User funds are safe!" Zhao <a href="https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2115915423174853077" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">posted</a> at 5:15 p.m. ET Thursday.
"It does look like a hack on Binance. Appreciate the quick freeze from Tether (~$971m) and Circle (~$823m)."
"I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered."
On Friday morning he offered his own <a href="https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116101255059947839" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">accounting</a>: "$6.x b hack, $3b frozen, $1.x b SAFU fund."
"Gap is about $2b, we have $1.x billion in SPCX alone. Remaining gap is (still painful, but) manageable."
SPCX refers to Zhao's stake in Elon Musk's SpaceX.
His math treats SAFU as separate from company funds and puts the fund at "$1.x" billion, nowhere near the $6.34 billion Binance says it has reserved.
Zhao <a href="https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2115919590178075039" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">called</a> Tether's freeze a "life saver" and <a href="https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2115920822087098401" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">thanked</a>&nbsp;Circle CEO Jeremy <a href="https://x.com/jerallaire/status/2115916207463481846" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Allaire</a>&nbsp;for Circle's action in separate posts.
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 Changpeng Zhao delivers a speech at the opening event of Europe's largest tech conference 
 <a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/binance-co-founder-and-ceo-changpeng-zhao-delivers-a-speech-news-photo/1244410585?adppopup=true" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Getty Images</a>
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<h2 id="the-recovery-plan">The recovery plan</h2>
Of the $6.34 billion reserved, Binance <a href="https://x.com/binance/status/2116121748555153621" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a> $5 billion is already held in the exact tokens that were stolen.
It is buying the rest through market and over-the-counter channels, warning that low-liquidity tokens "can take longer."
Binance <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/detail/c5a8729a97ac486d963784d96c5642d7" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a> roughly $3 billion of the affected assets have been frozen on-chain.
Tether CEO Paolo <a href="https://x.com/paoloardoino/status/2115918000373346709" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ardoino</a> said the issuer froze more than 1.567 billion USDT. Circle CEO Jeremy <a href="https://x.com/jerallaire/status/2115916207463481846" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Allaire</a> said it froze more than 800 million USDC.
Binance <a href="https://x.com/binance/status/2116121748555153621" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a> the frozen assets remain subject to ongoing recovery and verification, and are not included in its company-funds pledge.
Withdrawals remain paused. Binance <a href="https://x.com/binance/status/2116089661408108712" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> at 4:47 a.m. ET Friday it was "still on track towards the expected timeline to resume the withdrawal service in 45 hours."
Forty-five hours from that post lands at 1:47 a.m. ET Sunday, shortly before clocks fall back. The estimate is Binance's own, revised from 48 hours earlier that morning. Deposits are unaffected.
Binance will publish an updated Proof of Reserves once remediation is complete, its <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/detail/c5a8729a97ac486d963784d96c5642d7" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announcement</a> said.
The first test of the promise comes early Sunday, when Binance expects withdrawals to resume.
The numbers in this story are preliminary and could change as Binance and outside investigators release more findings, including any post-mortem report.
<h2 id="the-roundtable-100">The Roundtable 100</h2>
If you follow our market coverage, don’t miss the <a href="https://roundtable100.com/tab/rankings" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Roundtable 100</a>. Updated every Friday, it's a power ranking of the 100 most investable tech stocks, including digital assets. Check out the latest <a href="https://roundtable100.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">RTB 100</a> rankings at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">roundtable100.com</a>
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/varonis-systems-jumps-52-places-on-the-roundtable-100" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Varonis Systems jumps 52 places on the Roundtable 100</a>

How much of Binance's emergency fund is available?

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