Binance Hack Dims Hyperliquid's Record Day

Binance Suffers Record-Breaking $6.4 Billion Crypto Theft

The cryptocurrency world was rocked today by what is by far the largest crypto theft in history, with approximately $6.4 billion siphoned from Binance. The scale of the heist dwarfs the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025.

The illicit funds were moved across three different blockchains, with roughly $3.5 billion in ETH, $1.4 billion in BTC, and $630 million on Tron. Final accounting is still in progress.

In a significant move, stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle utilized their token-freezing capabilities, locking up approximately $2.39 billion, or 43% of the stolen assets. This leaves an estimated $2.6 to $3.2 billion still unaccounted for.

Decentralized finance protocol Aave also took precautionary measures, freezing its V3 and V4 markets on Ethereum. This action was prompted by concerns that an attacker might use the stolen funds to borrow against the protocol, potentially creating bad debt.

As the situation unfolded, Binance acknowledged reports of a “potential security issue,” assuring users that their funds were “completely safe” and pausing withdrawals on several networks. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance’s largest shareholder, commented that it “does look like a hack” and expressed confidence that user funds would be “fully covered.” Later in the evening, Binance announced it had set aside over $6.34 billion in company funds to cover losses, reinforcing the sentiment that user assets are indeed “safu.”

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT suggested that the Binance hack funds were commingled with those from a $388 million Bitget exploit, leading to speculation that the same North Korean hacker group may be responsible. Binance attributed the breach to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed unauthorized transactions to be submitted, with further “additional points of breach” identified later.

The market reacted predictably, with Bitcoin falling below $797,000, ETH dropping below $2,200, and BNB dipping below $700. Over $1.33 billion in positions were liquidated throughout the day.

Trade.xyz Secures Major Investment Amidst Market Turmoil

The Binance hack occurred on a day that was otherwise shaping up to be exceptionally positive for a crypto project. Earlier on Thursday, Trade.xyz announced a significant investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

The venture aims to establish a regulated U.S. venue offering round-the-clock perpetual futures. Built on Hyperliquid, the platform will cover stocks, indices, commodities, currencies, and crypto, featuring its own exchange and clearing infrastructure, pending CFTC approval.

Renowned investor Stanley Druckenmiller is also joining the initiative as part of a select group of market figures. Druckenmiller’s family office had previously disclosed a $23 million position in Hyperliquid Strategies earlier this year.

With this backing, Hyperliquid is positioning itself for a fully regulated perpetual futures offering within the U.S. The endorsement from Stanley Druckenmiller, who also publicly praised the venture on X, and ICE CEO’s statement that Hyperliquid was “bigger than NASDAQ,” signals a strong trajectory for the platform.

HYPE, the native token of Hyperliquid, surged as high as $97 intraday, a peak of over 20%, before settling at $89 in the wake of the Binance hack. As of this morning, it trades at $93, still up 8% for the day.

While the Binance hack introduces uncertainty, Hyperliquid may emerge as a beneficiary, offering a decentralized alternative to centralized exchanges like Binance, which may face diminished trust. However, the broader market could also be negatively impacted by fears of further exploits. The coming days are expected to be volatile.