As of 30 October 2026, the link between proof of reserves and the Binance hack centres on a wallet known as Binance 14. That wallet appeared in Binance's proof-of-reserves snapshot dated 1 October 2026. In the reported mechanism of the hack, an attacker used the Ethereum feature EIP-7702 on Binance 14, turning it into a sweeper, and about 204,500 ETH was moved. The result, as reported, was that ETH backing fell to near 94%, from 100% on 1 October.

Proof of reserves is, in simple terms, a snapshot showing what assets an exchange holds against customer balances at a given date. It is meant to give users a checkable picture of backing at that moment. The 1 October snapshot therefore matters as a starting point: it showed ETH backing at 100% before the breach, which makes the reported fall to near 94% a clear measure of the change attributed to the incident.

The breach itself occurred on 29 October 2026, when Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, suffered a security breach with an estimated impact of about $6.3 billion. The preliminary investigation has suggested a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop may have allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorised withdrawal transactions. No evidence of a wallet private key leak has been found in the preliminary findings.

The EIP-7702 detail is technical, but its reported effect is easy to grasp. By using that Ethereum feature on Binance 14, the attacker was reported to have turned the wallet into a sweeper, a tool that moves funds out quickly. That helps explain how a large amount of ETH, about 204,500, could be moved in the incident, and why the backing figure changed so sharply in the reporting that followed.

A fall from 100% to near 94% in ETH backing does not, on its own, tell the full story of Binance's overall position. It is a figure for ETH backing as reported, not a complete balance sheet, and other assets, frozen funds, and Binance's own coverage plans all sit alongside it. About $3 billion has been frozen so far, and Binance co-CEO Yi He has said losses will be covered from company funds and the SAFU emergency fund.

That is why the next proof-of-reserves snapshot matters so much. It is due on 1 November 2026, and it will show whether stolen assets have been replaced. If the new snapshot shows backing restored, that would be a concrete, dated check on the recovery. If it does not, readers will be able to see the gap for themselves, rather than relying only on assurances.

Until that snapshot appears, the 1 October figure and the near-94% figure should be treated as two points in time: a before and an after, as reported. They do not prove what has happened since 29 October, and they do not replace the need for the November update. The investigation is ongoing and figures are preliminary estimates.

In short, Binance 14 is the wallet from the 1 October proof of reserves that was reportedly turned into a sweeper, ETH backing fell to near 94% from 100%, and the 1 November snapshot is the next public test of whether assets were replaced. Readers should rely on official Binance channels for updates, and should not treat any unofficial backing claim as a substitute for that snapshot.

FAQ: What is Binance 14? A wallet in Binance's 1 October proof of reserves, reportedly turned into a sweeper using EIP-7702. What happened to ETH backing? It fell to near 94% from 100% on 1 October, after about 204,500 ETH moved. When is the next proof-of-reserves snapshot? 1 November 2026, which will show whether stolen assets were replaced.