US Justice Department Wins Court Approval to Seize $1.2 Billion in Crypto Stolen From Binance
Key Takeaways
- •The U.S. Justice Department obtained court approval to seize or restrain over $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, the largest single tranche recovered so far.
- •Investigators have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the roughly $6.4 billion stolen in the hack, or just over 40 percent of the total.
- •Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, previously lost approximately $570 million in BNB from its BNB Bridge in an October 2022 exploit.
- •U.S. authorities rely on blockchain tracing for such recoveries, with a prior record seizure of roughly $3.6 billion in bitcoin linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
- •After a court approves a restraint order, the frozen funds cannot be moved by their holders while prosecutors may pursue permanent forfeiture through ongoing legal proceedings.
The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday it has obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, the largest single tranche of the more than $2.7 billion investigators have frozen since the breach.
The assets come from the roughly $6.4 billion stolen in the hack, according to the announcement, which was first reported by COINOTAG on November 12, 2026. With this action, the funds frozen so far amount to just over 40 percent of the total stolen.
Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The company has previously been the target of major security incidents, including in October 2022, when approximately $570 million in BNB was drained from its BNB Bridge in one of the industry's most widely reported exploits.
U.S. authorities have increasingly relied on seizure warrants and forfeiture proceedings to recover digital assets tied to hacks and fraud. In February 2022, the Justice Department announced the seizure of roughly $3.6 billion in bitcoin linked to the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange, which at the time stood as the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. history. Such recoveries are typically built on blockchain tracing: because every transaction is recorded on public ledgers, investigators can follow stolen funds as they move between addresses and toward exchanges or other service points where the assets can be frozen.
Court authorization is a standard procedural step in such cases. Once a court approves a seizure or restraint order, the affected funds are typically frozen and cannot be moved by their holders, while prosecutors may pursue permanent forfeiture as legal proceedings advance. In this case, future rulings on forfeiture and any additional seizure actions aimed at the portion of the stolen funds not yet frozen will be the key developments to watch as the recovery effort progresses.
Further details of the seizure action were first published by COINOTAG.
This content was first published on COINOTAG: https://en.coinotag.com/doj-court-nod-seize-1-2-billion-binance-hack
