TLDR
- Elon Musk reacted to CZ’s email security warning with fire and laughing emojis.
- CZ had warned cryptocurrency users against opening suspicious email links and attachments.
- Binance estimated that its October 29 security breach involved approximately $6.3 billion.
- The exchange’s early investigation pointed to a compromised engineer’s laptop.
- Binance and its partners reported freezing approximately $3 billion in affected crypto assets.
Elon Musk publicly reacted to a warning from Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao with fire and laughing emojis on Friday, after the exchange reported a $6.3 billion breach. Musk also warned that advanced artificial intelligence might exploit cryptocurrency systems in the future.
Elon Musk Reacts to CZ’s Warning
Zhao advised followers on October 28 to avoid email links and attachments, even from familiar contacts. He warned that a trusted sender’s computer might carry malicious software without their knowledge.
Musk replied on October 30 with two emojis and no written explanation. His response followed the theft, but he did not accuse Zhao of causing it.
In another post, Musk wrote, “Everyday is Zeroday.”
🔥😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2026
Binance Investigates Compromised Employee Laptop
Binance’s initial inquiry pointed to a compromised engineer’s laptop. The attacker may have entered an internal service and submitted unauthorized withdrawals. A separate report on the Binance hack detailed how funds moved across several blockchains.
The exchange estimated that approximately $6.3 billion in assets was affected. It said partners had frozen around $3 billion and found no evidence that wallet private keys had leaked. Binance plans to release a detailed technical report after investigators establish what happened.
Musk later responded to a post describing how the attacker borrowed cryptocurrency through Aave, a blockchain lending service. He wrote, “Super intelligence agents will at some point do this to gain currency for themselves, not a human.” He did not claim that AI carried out this attack.
Blockchain risk researchers said a wallet linked to the theft deposited about $60 million in USDT and borrowed roughly $44.6 million in wrapped ether. Aave restricted new lending in several markets. Separately, researchers examining possible North Korean involvement have named a suspected hacking group, although Binance has not identified the attacker.
Exchange Promises to Cover All Customer Losses
Crypto prices fell after the breach, with Bitcoin sliding below $77,000 during the selloff. Tether and Circle froze billions in stablecoins, while other industry groups assisted with tracing transactions. Some of the stolen assets remain outside the reach of those freezes.
Binance temporarily halted customer withdrawals while it checked its systems. The company said it would cover all customer losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users and its own reserves. Zhao thanked other companies for helping and said users’ funds remained safe. Investigators are still working to recover the missing assets.
