Binance hit by $6.3 billion breach, the largest crypto theft on record
Attackers got into the exchange's hot-wallet signing systems. Investigators point to North Korea, and Binance says it has set aside $6.34 billion to cover losses.
The stories moving markets, policy and technology. Explained in minutes.
Attackers got into the exchange's hot-wallet signing systems. Investigators point to North Korea, and Binance says it has set aside $6.34 billion to cover losses.
The theft has reopened the debate over whether decentralisation is crypto's best defence, with Standard Chartered saying it could speed a shift to decentralised exchanges.
The blockchain analytics company has brought in outside experts to review its systems and strengthen its defences.
The tool converts collected fees into a chosen token. Robinhood uses it for stablecoin fee receipts, but the design leaves an arbitrage profit for the fastest traders.
Crypto-linked stocks fell harder, led by Coinbase, while several Wall Street firms called the breach a problem at one exchange rather than across the industry.
The USDT issuer's excess reserves almost doubled, and the bitcoin it holds was valued at $8.37 billion at the end of September.
Recurring revenue grew, but a fall in users and new executive share-sale plans weighed on the exchange in a difficult week for crypto stocks.
Raymond and Isiah Garcia held a Minnesota family at gunpoint for more than nine hours and forced the father to transfer the funds.
A 2025 feature that lets ordinary wallets run code did not cause the breach, experts say, but it may have helped the attacker get past withdrawal controls.
The exchange says the attack took several steps, that evidence was erased, and that it aims to restart withdrawals on Sunday.
The bitcoin-holding company reported a record quarter, moved its preferred shares to daily dividends and says it can raise up to $30 billion more without selling new common stock.
Chainalysis and TRM Labs tie the $6.3 billion hack to the same group blamed for the Bybit attack, and stolen funds from two exchanges appear to meet at one address.
The exchange says it holds about $5 billion in the same tokens that were stolen, while its own reserve figures suggest ether backing is short until losses are replaced.
Israel's Supreme Court found that exploiting a software bug can count as breaking into a computer, even when the system allowed the transaction.
Zcash Community Grants proposes redirecting funding toward miners. Opponents say the plan does not address who controls the money or how it is accounted for.