Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said a $6.3 billion hack would have sunk Binance if it had occurred a decade ago. He added that the incident does not alter Bitcoin’s long‑term direction.
Historical hacks and Bitcoin price moves
Previous exchange breaches have shown short‑term price impacts. In February 2014, Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy after up to 950,000 BTC disappeared, and Bitcoin fell about 30 % that month, according to Bloomberg. Creditors began receiving repayments in 2024, with the missing coins valued at over $58 billion.
In August 2016, Bitfinex lost roughly 120,000 BTC, and Bitcoin dropped 13 % over two days, though part of the decline preceded the announcement.
In February 2025, Bybit reported a loss of approximately $1.5 billion, reducing its reserves from $10.8 billion to $6.5 billion within days. During the same period, Bitcoin’s monthly performance turned negative 13.6 %, according to Glassnode, and daily Bitcoin ETF outflows reached about $1 billion.
Binance’s response
Binance says it has already covered $6 billion of the loss and began restoring withdrawals in phases on November 1, starting with Bitcoin. The exchange reported that partners froze roughly $3 billion, about half of the stolen amount.
Attribution and industry context
The FBI has attributed the Binance hack to North Korea, a pattern also seen in attacks on Bybit and Bitget. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen described a September breach of $350 million as very likely linked to North Korea.
Hougan characterized the incident as a conventional cybersecurity breach rather than a flaw in Bitcoin’s blockchain, noting that exchanges remain vulnerable points.
Outlook
Future ETF flows will indicate whether Binance can sustain activity comparable to Bybit’s recent near‑$3 billion weekly volume or experience a faster decline.
