Bitcoin fell to approximately $76,400 on Friday, declining roughly 6% below its level following Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision, after Binance disclosed a record $6.4 billion theft. The muted market response stands in stark contrast to March 2018, when a failed Binance attack that resulted in no stolen funds caused Bitcoin to plummet from $10,740 to $9,690 within minutes.
Security firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs confirmed the theft at approximately $6.4 billion, more than four times the previous record hack of $1.5 billion from the Bybit incident in February 2025. The attacker currently holds over 420,000 ETH and 18,270 BTC, valued at approximately $2.4 billion, with total holdings exceeding $3 billion when accounting for other tokens.
Binance responded by announcing it has set aside more than $6.34 billion of company funds to cover all losses. The exchange is purchasing missing tokens on the open market and through private over-the-counter deals. Approximately $3 billion in funds remain frozen, with deposits operating normally and withdrawals expected to resume within 45 hours.
Market Structure Changes Shield Bitcoin
The crypto market has undergone significant structural changes since 2018. The total cryptocurrency market value has grown from over $400 billion in March 2018 to approximately $2.6 trillion today. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, now hold roughly 1.3 million coins, approximately 6% of Bitcoin's total supply.
These institutional investment vehicles, which allow purchases through ordinary brokerage accounts, appear to have provided market stability. Their shareholders do not hold coins on Binance and are less susceptible to panic selling. Sovereign wealth funds including Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council have been accumulating Bitcoin through these channels. BlackRock's fund alone received $136 million in inflows on Wednesday, prior to the disclosed theft.
Sentiment and Market Context
Market sentiment had already softened before the hack. CoinMarketCap's Fear and Greed index dropped to 36 points from 43 following the theft, entering "fear" territory. Bitcoin currently trades approximately 38% below its record high of $126,080.
The contrast with 2018 is notable. During that incident, the market was already in extreme fear territory at 12 points on the scale, with traders in panic mode before the attack accelerated declines. More than $1.3 billion in leveraged trading positions were liquidated following the recent hack.
Security researchers attribute the theft to a North Korean group believed responsible for the Bybit hack. Following that attack, the perpetrators converted approximately 84% of stolen Ethereum into Bitcoin through Thorchain, a cross-chain swap network.
