Binance got robbed of $6.3 billion. Then it reopened the doors. Customers sprinted out with $3.64 billion in nine and a half hours.
That's $4.65 billion out, $1.01 billion in. Some of you deposited money that same morning. Fascinating. Either you're brave or you're a rounding error with a login.
Changpeng Zhao took to X with a victory lap. "98% choose to stay!" he wrote. Zhao is grading the exchange on a curve where 2.1% of $171 billion walking out the door counts as a standing ovation.
Fair point, though. That's a 98% retention rate. Airlines would kill for that. Airlines also haven't lost $6.3 billion from their hot wallets on a Thursday.
The exchange says it set aside $6.34 billion to cover the losses. That's $40 million more than was stolen. Call it a tip for the hackers.
Investigators have reportedly linked the attack to a North Korean state-backed group. So your life savings may now be funding a missile program. At least someone is getting leverage.
The numbers also depend on who's counting. Binance says $3.64 billion. DefiLlama reportedly says $5.81 billion. Same exchange. Same day. Two different holes in the boat.
The retail traders who stayed deserve a moment. They watched the largest crypto heist on record unfold, saw the exit open, and chose to remain. That isn't diamond hands. That's a hostage situation with a mobile app.
Stay on Binance, friends. The hackers already know the way back.
Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash
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