Crypto News

The Binance hack may have involved attackers manipulating the exchange’s transaction-signing infrastructure, rather than stealing private keys, Blockaid CEO Ido Ben-Natan told Cointelegraph. He described the finding as preliminary and said the suspected method resembled “key misuse”: tricking or compromising a signing system so it authorizes malicious transactions without exposing the underlying keys. Blockaid’s on-chain analysis said attackers bundled 50 EIP-7702 authorizations into one transaction targeting Binance 14. An authorization reportedly matched the account’s required nonce, enabling execution and delegation to an unverified contract that could drain tokens and Ether. Binance has not confirmed how the incident occurred. Arkham CEO Miguel Morel said there was not enough information to determine whether keys were stolen or infrastructure was compromised, and suggested the attack might still be ongoing. The article reports losses of more than $2.5 billion. Ben-Natan compared the suspected Binance hack to the February 2025 Bybit attack, in which attackers compromised a developer’s credentials and deceived wallet signers into approving a malicious transaction. He also said the activity showed similarities to operations attributed to North Korean hackers, though this was not confirmed.

Galaxy Digital research chief Alex Thorn said Bitcoin stayed near $80,000 during recent AI-market concerns partly because trading-focused hedge funds had already reduced their spot Bitcoin ETF positions. Galaxy’s review of 13F filings found that nine major filers cut holdings by 29% to 100% and sold a combined 68,000 BTC by June 2026. Across all 2,200 filers, holdings fell 14%, from 355,000 BTC in September 2025 to 307,000 BTC in June 2026. Thorn said longer-term buyers, including wealth managers, may be less likely to sell in response to short-term macro worries. The next batch of 13F filings, due November 16, will show institutional ETF positions as of September 30.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman says the five-year cost of building and operating one gigawatt of AI infrastructure should fall from about $70 billion to roughly $20 billion. The target covers chips, data centres, power systems and electricity; it is not a confirmed cost reduction. Altman says cheaper energy and lower supply-chain margins are needed, while warning that power availability remains a constraint. Semiconductor analyst Dylan Patel estimates current construction costs exceed $60 billion per gigawatt, up from about $40 billion in 2024, and says removing supplier margins could bring costs closer to $20 billion. The issue matters to OpenAI, whose infrastructure commitments exceed $1.4 trillion. Its planned Project Camellia campus in Georgia is valued at $20 billion and has contracted capacity of 3.2 gigawatts, with a phased rollout planned for 2028–2032. Lower AI infrastructure costs could support expansion, but persistent energy and capital costs would put pressure on the industry’s growth plans.

Binance says it is working with law enforcement agencies, asset issuers, blockchain intelligence firms and industry partners to trace and freeze additional assets. The exchange expects the total value of frozen assets to rise and says it will share updates when more information is confirmed. Binance did not disclose a current total or identify the assets in this update.

The Arbitrum Security Council executed a transaction to freeze about $30.5 million linked to the Binance exploit. The action may limit the movement of the affected funds, but the report gives no further details about the exploit or recovery efforts. The Arbitrum freeze is a notable security response, though its direct effect on broader crypto markets is likely limited.

Shares of Nasdaq-listed BNC, a BNB treasury company, fell 4.08% to close at $5.41, according to MSX.COM data. The report provides no reason for the decline and does not indicate whether it was linked to a change in BNB’s price or broader market conditions. The move reflects a drop in BNC stock; its effect on BNB trading is unclear.

US real GDP grew at an annualised 3.4% rate in the third quarter of 2026, up from 2.2% in Q2, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ advance estimate. The acceleration in GDP growth was driven mainly by increased investment, consumer spending and government spending. Exports declined, while imports rose compared with the previous quarter. The figures show stronger economic expansion, but the report does not provide inflation or Federal Reserve policy details that would clarify the outlook for interest rates.

Shen Yu said Binance 14’s hot wallet had not revoked an EIP-7702 delegation more than two hours after it was flagged. A 2,961 ETH transfer to the wallet remains pending because its gas fee is low. Shen Yu warned that if the transaction is included when the base fee falls below 4.4 gwei, an attacker could sweep the funds. The comments point to an ongoing security risk involving Binance 14, though the report does not confirm that the transfer has been processed or that the funds have been stolen.

Aave Chan Initiative founder Marc Zeller said the Binance hacker’s position on Aave is manageable and does not warrant special intervention. The attacker deposited 60 million USDT and borrowed 19,762 wETH, worth about $44.9 million, before Tether or Aave froze the relevant assets. The position was overcollateralized, with a health factor of 1.04 and about $59.9 million in collateral. Aave’s normal liquidation process could close the debt if ETH rises to roughly $2,365, about 4% above the level cited. The debt represents just 0.9% of wETH reserves in Aave V3 Core. The pool also has 345,000 wETH available, with utilization at 81.6%, which Zeller said is sufficient for withdrawals. He argued that a governance-led forced liquidation would offer little benefit and could affect other USDT depositors. Zeller compared the case favorably with the Kelp exploit, which involved collateral with no value. His comments suggest limited immediate liquidity risk for Aave, though traders may continue monitoring ETH prices, liquidations and protocol exposure.

Glassnode says Bitcoin’s rebound has lost momentum after repeated failures to break through the $84,000–$85,000 resistance zone. The price has slipped slightly below the average cost basis of US spot Bitcoin ETFs, while ETF flows have nearly flatlined: the funds recorded just $67 million in net inflows over the two weeks following a $653 million inflow on 19 October. Trading volume has also remained subdued. Order-book support has shifted lower. Binance buy orders are concentrated around $78,000–$79,000, near the $77,900 True Market Mean. A daily close below that level could expose Bitcoin’s short-term holder cost basis at about $75,800. On the upside, sustained daily closes above $85,000 would be an initial sign that resistance is weakening; Glassnode says a move above $87,500 accompanied by stronger ETF inflows and volume would provide stronger confirmation of renewed demand. The rebound has also underperformed Bitcoin’s 2023 recovery at a comparable point, and the share of leading altcoins trading above their 200-day averages has fallen from 88% to 66%. However, realized losses on recent pullbacks have declined, suggesting limited selling pressure. With Bitcoin volatility near historically low levels, Glassnode identifies the 28 October Federal Reserve decision as a potential catalyst for a sharp move in either direction.

Reports of a potential Binance-linked wallet hack sent crypto prices lower on Thursday. BNB fell 7.2% to about $702, Bitcoin dropped 3.1% to $78,674 and Ether lost 4% to $2,263. The total crypto market capitalisation declined 3.3% to around $2.73 trillion, while trading volume rose nearly 29% to $89.4 billion, indicating heightened activity during the sell-off. Blockaid flagged about $3.3 billion in suspicious transfers, while Arkham Intelligence tracked roughly $5.84 billion in assets held by wallets labelled “binance-hacker-1029.” Neither amount was confirmed as stolen. Binance said it was investigating a potential security issue and that user funds were safe. Tether and Circle said they had frozen more than $2.3 billion in stablecoins linked to the incident. The Binance hack reports remain unconfirmed, leaving market sentiment vulnerable to further updates.

Bybit said on 29 October 2026 that trading and withdrawals were operating normally and user funds remained secure, despite security concerns involving Binance and a separate incident at Polymarket. The exchange urged users to rely on its official channels for updates. The statement follows Bybit’s February 2025 hack, in which attackers stole an estimated $1.46 billion to $1.5 billion in ETH from a cold wallet. Bybit said it continued processing withdrawals and covered the shortfall with corporate reserves within about 12 hours. It reported handling more than 580,000 withdrawal requests after the breach. By mid-2026, about $48 million to $75 million of the stolen funds had reportedly been recovered or frozen. Bybit also says AI-assisted monitoring blocked more than $700 million in potential losses from suspicious withdrawals earlier in 2026; that figure has not been independently audited. The article reports that Tether and Circle froze certain transactions linked to the Polymarket incident, highlighting the role of centralized stablecoin issuers during security crises. Traders should monitor official updates on Bybit, Binance and Polymarket, as well as any further token freezes.

MANTRA is rolling out Privy embedded wallets across its apps to simplify access to real-world asset (RWA) trading while preserving user self-custody. Wallets are already live on MF Markets, with MANTRA Zone and community interfaces planned next. Users can sign in with email, Google or Apple instead of managing a seed phrase. The article says Privy uses key sharding in a trusted execution environment and policy controls; users retain control of their keys, though the setup relies partly on hardware security and linked login accounts. The MANTRA wallet rollout may lower onboarding barriers for RWA users, but the article reports no usage or trading figures. Separately, MANTRA Chain supports EVM and CosmWasm, and the migration from OM to MANTRA tokens is ongoing, with another claim batch scheduled for October 27, 2026.

Bitcoin fell below $79,000 after reports of a possible security breach at Binance, prompting concern across crypto markets. The exchange has not confirmed a breach and says its security teams are investigating. Binance co-founder Yi He urged users to rely on official updates, while former CEO Changpeng Zhao said he expects user funds to be covered. Estimates of suspicious outflows vary. Coinbase executive Conor Grogan cited $5.8 billion, while blockchain security firm Blockaid said it was investigating about $3.3 billion in outflows from Binance hot wallets across Ethereum, Arbitrum and Avalanche. Tether and Circle reportedly froze more than $1.567 billion in USDT and about $823 million in USDC, respectively. The figures remain unverified and continue to change. Bitcoin traded around $78,800, down 2.89% over 24 hours, after falling from a high of $81,890 to a low near $78,177. If confirmed, the suspected theft would exceed the roughly $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025. The reports have intensified Bitcoin selling and concerns about exchange security, but the scale and cause of the incident remain unconfirmed.

Binance has temporarily suspended trading on Binance Alpha as part of its ongoing security measures. The exchange said trading will resume once the security issue is resolved. Binance stated that user funds are safe and promised to share further updates. The pause may affect activity on Binance Alpha, but the announcement did not specify the nature of the issue or identify any affected assets.

Binance hot wallet transfers are reportedly continuing, with about $6.26 billion in assets moved from Binance wallets to addresses described as controlled by attackers. The reported outflows span nine networks: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tron, XRP, Solana, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism and Base. The scale and ongoing nature of the Binance hot wallet transfers raise concerns about a possible security incident and may prompt traders to monitor exchange withdrawal status, wallet attribution and official updates. The article does not provide details on the assets involved or confirm the cause of the transfers.

Wintermute founder Evgeny Gaevoy said the crypto market maker has less than 20% of its net assets exposed to Binance. He expects no disruption to Wintermute’s market-making operations across any time horizon. Gaevoy said Binance is likely able to withstand the current situation and that user funds are probably safe, but advised users not to deposit funds until Binance identifies and resolves the issue.

A DBS survey published on October 28 found that 88% of businesses in its sample were piloting or deploying tokenized-money use cases. Companies cited needs such as round-the-clock payments, improved liquidity management and cross-border transactions. More than three quarters of respondents also expected artificial intelligence to improve treasury, payment or collection operations within two years. The 88% figure combines limited pilots with live deployments. It does not show that those businesses have replaced bank accounts with stablecoins, or that they are using public blockchains. “Tokenized money” may refer to stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits or other privately operated systems. For crypto traders, the survey signals institutional interest in digital settlement and stable-value payments, but does not establish a surge in crypto demand. DBS did not provide verified transaction volumes or savings in the findings described. The clearest indicators of broader adoption would be disclosures separating pilots from production use, identifying the types of tokenized money involved, and reporting measurable settlement volumes and operating benefits.

The suspected Binance hack attacker is converting stablecoins into ETH through decentralized finance platforms, including Uniswap and Aave. On-chain data showed wallets borrowing 19,762 ETH on Aave against about $60 million in USDT, while other wallets received tens of thousands of ETH through Uniswap contracts. Aave subsequently paused its Ethereum mainnet V3 markets, and Kamino temporarily halted borrowing in its SOL/BTC market as a precaution. Stablecoin issuers have frozen more than $2 billion in USDT and USDC linked to the incident. Ripple also froze about $200 million in RLUSD, according to Binance co-CEO Yi He. But ETH has no issuer able to freeze it. About 253,000 ETH, worth roughly $570 million at the time, remained in two wallets without outgoing transfers as of 22:07 UTC. Binance is investigating the security incident and has not confirmed whether user funds were affected. Security experts suspect the exchange was hacked, with losses reported at a minimum of $5.5 billion and the total still climbing. The scale and uncertainty could heighten market volatility and concerns about exchange security, although the article reports no confirmed flaw in Uniswap or Aave.

Nvidia is discussing credit guarantees to help UK neocloud provider Nscale borrow billions of dollars for a planned 460-megawatt data center expansion in West Virginia. The project’s second building is still under discussion with Anthropic and is expected to use Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips. A guarantee could reduce Nscale’s borrowing costs and support its expansion, while reinforcing Nvidia’s role as a chip supplier, investor and financing backer. Nvidia previously guaranteed about $860 million of Nscale lease obligations in Texas. Nscale also secured nearly $3 billion in senior secured loan facilities in August 2026. Nscale’s IPO filing reported about $103.4 billion in contracted value but roughly $2.6 billion in active revenue, highlighting the gap between future commitments and current business. Nvidia reported maximum customer-support exposure of $164.5 billion in its July 2026 filing. That figure is not an estimate of expected losses, but it underscores Nvidia’s growing financial links to neocloud partners. For traders, the key risks to monitor are Nscale’s ability to deliver contracted capacity, reliance on Anthropic for demand at the planned building, and any further increase in Nvidia’s support commitments.

Aave says it will continue monitoring the situation and aims to unfreeze all previously frozen V3 and V4 DAO operational markets as soon as possible. The update follows a pause on new deposits and borrowing in those markets; users were still able to withdraw and repay loans. Aave has not provided a specific timetable or further details in the report. The status of Aave DAO markets may affect activity in the protocol, but the announcement alone does not indicate a broader change in market conditions.

Binance said user funds were safe and it was investigating after blockchain data showed billions of dollars in transfers from wallets labelled as its hot wallets. The exchange had not confirmed whether the transfers were unauthorised or disclosed any losses. Total outflows linked to the wallets were estimated at about $5.64 billion, while Tether and Circle froze at least $2.316 billion in stablecoins. Binance hot wallet concerns unsettled traders: BTC briefly fell below $79,000, ETH dropped below $2,240, and BNB was down 6.3% over 24 hours. About $628 million in crypto derivatives positions were liquidated in one hour, with longs accounting for roughly 97% of the total. Separately, Polymarket temporarily halted new trading after a third-party provider was compromised. The platform said it fixed the issue and would fully reimburse affected users. There is no evidence linking the Polymarket incident to Binance.

Binance says it is conducting security checks and will resume withdrawals once the security issue is fully resolved. The exchange says user funds remain safe and that it will provide further updates. Binance had earlier attributed some withdrawal delays to a technical error. On-chain data reportedly showed unusual outflows from a Binance hot wallet, with the value of assets potentially reaching $5.6 billion; the cause and amount have not been confirmed in the exchange’s latest statement. The withdrawal pause and reported outflows may increase short-term uncertainty for Binance users and crypto traders.

Aave froze its Avalanche lending markets after a suspected breach of Binance hot wallets, aiming to prevent the suspected attacker from using potentially stolen AVAX as collateral to borrow other assets. Initial assessments put the outflow at about $3.3 billion across multiple chains, including roughly 1.81 million AVAX and 8.4 million USDT linked to the incident. The estimate may change as Binance’s investigation continues; the exchange says user funds are secure. Tether and Circle also froze assets linked to the transactions, reportedly about $1.5 billion and $823 million respectively. Aave’s freeze is intended to limit bad-debt risk for liquidity providers, but it may temporarily disrupt legitimate Avalanche borrowing and lending. Traders will be watching the scope of the suspected Binance hack, the status of Aave’s Avalanche markets and the movement of the identified wallets. No direct losses for Aave were reported.

Binance held about $165 billion in crypto reserves on October 1, equal to 68.7% of the $240.2 billion tracked across eight major centralized exchanges. Its reserves rose from $154.3 billion in September, partly because of higher prices and partly due to deposits. Binance recorded net inflows of 25,155 BTC during the month, while its seven largest rivals saw combined outflows of about 3,950 BTC. Bitcoin makes up roughly 34% of Binance’s reserves, followed by USDT at 19% and BNB at 16.5%. The exchange reported reserve ratios of at least 100% for major assets, including 100.35% for BTC and 103.88% for USDT. The figures highlight Binance’s scale and continued Bitcoin inflows, but also raise concerns about crypto exchange concentration. Proof of reserves offers a snapshot of assets against customer balances; it does not show every liability. Traders may watch future BTC flows, Binance’s BNB exposure and reserve ratios for signs of changing confidence or liquidity risk.

BitGo has temporarily frozen USD1 at a single blockchain address linked to stolen funds. The stablecoin issuer said it found no security vulnerability in its systems. The freeze is permitted under USD1’s smart-contract and compliance framework; on certain chains, frozen tokens can also be drained or reallocated. USD1 is linked to World Liberty Financial (WLFI). BitGo currently issues the stablecoin and holds its reserves, while WLFI manages its brand and compliance actions. WLFI is preparing to establish the World Liberty Trust Company after receiving conditional preliminary approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on 14 August 2026. The trust company is expected to eventually take over issuance and custody, subject to a minimum capital requirement of $20 million. USD1 supply fell by about $400 million, or 9%, to roughly $4 billion by mid-October 2026, amid increased redemptions. The freeze affects only one flagged address, so the immediate impact on other holders appears limited. Traders will be watching whether the tokens are later moved or reallocated, whether redemptions continue, and how quickly WLFI’s proposed trust company begins operating.

Two US senators have asked prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket to explain how they will prevent insider trading and market manipulation in election betting ahead of next week’s midterm elections. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator John Curtis want details on controls for blocking suspicious trades before they occur, as well as the number of suspected violations detected after trading. They requested written responses by November 3 and questioned whether the platforms can effectively review and enforce rules for election event contracts. The inquiry raises regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets, but the article reports no specific enforcement action or direct impact on crypto prices.

Polymarket suspended trading for about an hour after an alleged attack let an attacker sell users’ positions and withdraw funds through active sessions, without passwords or seed phrases. Reports said compromised DebugBear monitoring code had been replaced with malicious code that users’ browsers treated as trusted. Polymarket said it would compensate affected users and referred the incident to UK law enforcement. The Polymarket attack highlights risks from compromised third-party scripts and may weigh on confidence in the prediction market platform.

UNI fell 13.2% over 24 hours amid reported selling by a Binance-linked hacker, according to Odaily. The token was trading at $6.29 at the time of publication. The report did not provide details on the volume or timing of the sales, so the extent of direct selling pressure on UNI is unclear.