Senator Cynthia Lummis has defended the CLARITY Act in the wake of Binance's $6.3 billion hack, arguing that direct intelligence sharing between crypto firms and federal investigators could stop stolen assets from crossing blockchains. The Wyoming Republican made her comments on Sunday, November 1, as the exchange reopened customer withdrawals following the October 29 attack. Lummis argues that much faster transaction freezes could have helped contain losses in the incident.

Customers began moving funds off the platform again as lawmakers debated whether the proposed legislation could have helped contain losses during the breach. Binance says it has covered most of the affected assets, while investigators work to trace funds tied to North Korean hackers.

Lummis Defends the CLARITY Act After the Binance Hack

Lummis said attackers transferred billions across blockchains within minutes, leaving investigators little time to intervene. In her latest post on X, she pointed to a proposed pilot program connecting crypto firms with federal law enforcement. "When the industry and law enforcement move together, stolen money stops moving," she wrote.

Under the proposal, participating businesses and investigators would share information about suspicious transactions. Other provisions would offer certain protections for firms that temporarily freeze transfers at law enforcement's request. Those measures, however, remain proposals rather than powers created by an enacted law. Speed is central here because cryptocurrency that hops between networks passes through different platforms and token issuers, meaning freezing it typically requires action from every party connected to the chains involved.

Thieves stole $6.3 billion in crypto this week and moved it across blockchains in minutes. The Clarity Act created a pilot program for crypto firms and federal law enforcement to share intelligence directly. When the industry and law enforcement move together, stolen money stops…

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) November 1, 2026

On October 30, Lummis said the bill could have enabled much faster freezes of stolen funds during the Binance security breach. Amanda Fischer, a policy executive at the nonprofit Better Markets, challenged that reading, citing provisions involving court orders and existing laws. Lummis replied that Binance would qualify as a covered digital asset service provider under the proposed framework.

The disagreement followed the Senate's September 15 procedural vote, when the bill failed to advance by 49 votes to 50. Lummis blamed Democratic opposition for the outcome, although senators voted on advancing the full legislation rather than individual anti-fraud provisions. Because the CLARITY Act remains unenacted, its proposed protections were unavailable during Thursday's attack.

Binance Withdrawals Resume as Customers Move Billions

Binance reopened withdrawals on November 1 after temporarily suspending transfers to investigate the breach. The first phase covered selected assets across 15 blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The exchange said access would return gradually as each network completed its security checks.

The reopening was followed by heavy customer activity, with DefiLlama, an on-chain analytics platform, recording more than $3.5 billion in net outflows on Sunday. Net outflow figures reflect withdrawals minus deposits over a given period. Reuters reported the figure, but Binance did not confirm the estimate. The company said withdrawals initially jumped before slowing toward levels it considered normal.

Binance also reported replacing about 95% of the affected assets using its own resources. It said the remaining tokens were harder to source because of limited market liquidity, adding that customer losses would be covered.

Meanwhile, the FBI attributed the hack to North Korea's TraderTraitor unit, following blockchain investigators' findings. Investigators tracked funds moving between chains and reported that attackers were converting assets into Ether. Binance has continued cooperating with law enforcement and token issuers to trace funds and freeze assets.

Lummis argued that closer coordination between the industry and law enforcement should become a standard part of the response to such attacks. Her latest comments came as Binance continued restoring services and investigators worked to track the remaining stolen cryptocurrency. With the bill unenacted after its September procedural defeat, its prospects rest with the Senate, while recovery of the remaining stolen funds depends on the continuing tracing effort.