Binance Co-founder Confronts Musk Over Mockery of Record $6.3B Hack

Key points

• Changpeng Zhao urged Elon Musk to cease posting mocking emojis on X regarding the Binance hack, noting that Binance holds over $1 billion in SpaceX shares from a prior Twitter investment.
• The breach involved the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets, making it the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, with the entire operation lasting roughly 20 minutes.
• Binance has frozen about $3 billion in assets in coordination with other firms and pledged to cover all user losses, setting aside $5 billion and seeking to purchase an additional $1.34 billion to offset the total impact.
• Blockchain analysis firms TRM and Chainalysis attribute the attack to North Korea’s elite hacking unit, TraderTraitor, while Binance confirmed the incident involved a compromised laptop and additional breach points.
• The hack triggered a market downturn, with Bitcoin falling more than 5% to approximately $77,000, exacerbating concerns about the security and volatility of the cryptocurrency sector.

Background

This incident follows a period of regulatory and market instability for the crypto sector, including the failure of the Clarity Act in the U.S. Congress. Changpeng Zhao, who stepped down as CEO in 2023 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges, was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025. The current hack echoes the 2022 collapse of FTX, which also caused billions in losses and raised questions about exchange security.

How outlets are covering it

While all sources confirm the $6.3 billion loss and Binance’s pledge to cover it, they differ on the technical and political nuances. CNBC and NBC News highlight the personal friction between Zhao and Musk, with Zhao citing his financial stake in SpaceX to demand support. The New York Times emphasizes the uncertainty surrounding the attack’s nature, noting Zhao’s admission that it 'looks like a hack' versus a company spokesman’s initial label of a 'security incident.' AP News and NBC News focus on the attribution to North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit, with AP noting that TRM Labs estimates $2.4 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum may be unrecoverable. NBC News also notes the broader market impact, including a 5% drop in Bitcoin and the failure of the Clarity Act, which had sought to provide legal protections for crypto assets.

Why it matters

The hack represents the largest theft in cryptocurrency history, threatening the sector’s reputation for security and potentially delaying mainstream adoption. Binance’s decision to cover all losses, including purchasing additional assets to offset the theft, sets a precedent for how major exchanges will handle catastrophic breaches. The involvement of North Korean state-sponsored hackers also raises geopolitical concerns, as such activities are often linked to funding nuclear programs and circumventing UN sanctions.

What to watch

Binance expects to resume withdrawals within one to two days and will release more technical details as its investigation continues. The company is working with law enforcement to confirm the identity of the attackers. The crypto market may continue to experience volatility as investors assess the security of other exchanges and the potential for further North Korean cyberattacks.