TLDR
- Binance has refilled about 95% of tokens affected by its $6.3 billion hack.
- Mercado Bitcoin lost an estimated $48.6 million in a separate attack.
- Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the US midterms.
- Zcash activated NU7, cutting block times from 75 to 25 seconds.
- Apple and Meta rejected tokenised stock plans, joined by 67 companies in total.
The crypto industry saw security breaches, a political shift and a network upgrade between October 31 and November 7. Binance, Mercado Bitcoin, Zcash, Circle, Apple and Meta all featured in the week’s news.
Two exchanges reported large hacks within days of each other. Major technology companies also pushed back on tokenised stock trading plans, and Zcash completed a network upgrade.
Binance Recovers From $6.3 Billion Crypto Hack
Binance was hit by a cyberattack on October 29 that affected about $6.3 billion in digital assets. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group. Investigators pointed to compromised transaction-signing infrastructure.
Co-CEO Richard Teng spoke at Hong Kong Fintech Week on November 3. He said the exchange remained in strong financial health. Reuters reported that Binance had replenished about 95% of affected tokens.
The remaining 5% consists mainly of less-liquid assets. Customer withdrawals reached about $4.72 billion by Monday before activity began returning to normal. The incident has raised questions about exchange security, institutional custody and the limits of crypto insurance.
Democrats Win US Midterms, Raising Questions About Crypto Regulation
Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections. The Associated Press reported the result on November 4.
The result creates uncertainty for the CLARITY Act, a proposal to set clearer regulatory roles for digital assets. The crypto industry had spent heavily on campaigns backing candidates seen as favorable to digital asset rules.
The election does not mean the legislation will fail. Exchanges, stablecoin issuers and institutional investors now face new political considerations as talks over crypto market structure continue.
Mercado Bitcoin Hit by Major Cryptocurrency Hack
Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin confirmed a security breach on November 2, days after the Binance attack. Hackers accessed wallets across at least 10 blockchain networks. The exchange paused deposits and withdrawals.
Mercado Bitcoin first reported about $38 million in losses. Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery later estimated that $48.6 million was stolen.
Investigators found that attackers kept draining customer deposit addresses for several hours after the exchange said the incident was contained. The company pledged to cover customer losses. Stablecoin issuers helped freeze millions of dollars in stolen assets.
Zcash NU7 Upgrade Goes Live
Zcash activated its NU7 network upgrade on November 6. The upgrade cuts the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. That could let private payments receive confirmations three times faster.
NU7 adds a Network Sustainability Mechanism that reserves 60% of transaction fees for future mining rewards. The 21 million coin supply cap stays in place.
The upgrade also disabled legacy Sprout transactions. About 12,224 coins are unspendable unless a recovery mechanism is approved.
Circle Cuts Workforce Despite Strong USDC Earnings
Circle reported third-quarter revenue and reserve income of $865 million and said it will cut about 5% of its workforce. The results beat estimates. USDC transaction volume rose 49% to $13.9 trillion.
Net income from continuing operations was $226 million. Circle recorded a $9.1 million restructuring charge as it adjusts operations and expands its use of artificial intelligence.
CoinDesk reported that Circle beat earnings and revenue estimates on rising USDC transaction volume.
Apple and Meta Reject Tokenised Stock Trading
Apple and Meta rejected proposals to trade tokenised versions of their shares. The plans involve crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
The objections concern shareholder protections, regulatory oversight and the role of blockchain technology in traditional securities markets.
According to CoinDesk, 67 companies have now objected to the arrangements. That is about 90% of the original selection.
