‘Bad time to troll,’ Binance co-founder tells Musk after breach

By the Editorial Team · Sunday, November 1, 2026

Binance suffered a massive hack on October 29, resulting in an estimated $6.3 billion stolen, with North Korea suspected as the culprit, forcing the crypto exchange to halt deposits and withdrawals during ongoing investigations. The breach not only caused a sharp drop in Binance’s token value but also intensified regulatory scrutiny and highlighted the growing cybersecurity risks facing the cryptocurrency industry.

Binance Holdings is grappling with the repercussions of what experts are calling the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, with co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao publicly responding to criticism from Elon Musk amid the ongoing fallout. The breach, which occurred on October 29, resulted in the theft of approximately US$6.3 billion, according to estimates from crypto analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis. Both firms have pointed to North Korea as the likely orchestrator of the cyberattack.

The hack emerged as a significant blow to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, prompting the company to temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals as it conducts an investigation. Zhao, addressing Musk’s comments on the social media platform X, urged an end to what he described as untimely trolling, saying, “Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop.” Musk had reacted to a post about Binance’s efforts to recover from the breach with a grimacing emoji.

Zhao also referenced a financial connection to Musk, noting that shares from Binance’s US$500 million investment in Musk’s Twitter takeover are now worth over a billion dollars, though he did not clarify which specific entity holds those shares. Yi He, Binance’s co-chief executive officer, affirmed that the company’s revenue for the current year should be sufficient to absorb the losses incurred by the breach.

The exchange’s token, BNB, has seen a decline of nearly 10% over the past two days, while shares of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), in which Binance reportedly holds an investment, dropped as much as 5.6% in early New York trading. Representatives for both Binance and SpaceX declined to provide additional comments at this time.

This episode highlights the escalating pressure on crypto platforms as the industry confronts increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. It also marks a shift from previous social media dynamics, reversing roles from 2022 when Zhao actively criticized the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX as it neared bankruptcy. Zhao’s public remarks at that time contributed to the destabilization of FTX, whose former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried later received a 25-year prison sentence for fraud.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have been frequent targets in recent years, with North Korea implicated in several high-profile breaches, including a US$1.5 billion theft from crypto platform Bybit in 2025. However, the scale of the Binance hack significantly surpasses prior attacks, underscoring ongoing vulnerabilities within the sector.

Binance continues to investigate the breach and has yet to announce a timeline for resuming normal platform operations. The incident has drawn intensified scrutiny from regulators and market participants around the world, further highlighting the challenges facing the nascent cryptocurrency industry.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.