On October 29, 2026, hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in what blockchain analysts describe as the largest digital asset heist in history and potentially the largest known theft of any kind. TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the attack with “high confidence” to TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, an elite state-sponsored hacking unit linked to North Korea.
Binance initially pointed to a compromised engineer’s laptop, but its later update described a more complex attack involving additional breach points. The exchange said an Ethereum account delegation feature was used to bypass normal transaction approval controls, while noting that it found no evidence of a wallet private key leak. In response, Binance suspended all user deposits and withdrawals. The exchange has pledged more than $6.34 billion in company resources to cover user losses, and approximately $3 billion linked to the attack has reportedly been frozen with industry partners.
Altcoin Pro co-founder and Chief Research Officer Joni Zhuleku told Crypto.News that reimbursement alone will not restore confidence. He said the breach exposed serious weaknesses in the systems responsible for approving transactions and preventing unauthorized transfers, and warned that prices can recover faster than people’s confidence in the companies holding their assets. Zhuleku added that North Korean actors account for around 85% of the value stolen in crypto hacks this year, according to TRM estimates, and urged users to stay alert to recovery scams.
Separately, Brazil’s new crypto licensing process attracted only about 40 institutions before the October 30 deadline, well below earlier expectations of 150 to 200 applicants. Brazilian law firm Panucci, Severo e Nebias Advogados said smaller platforms struggled with minimum capital requirements of R$10.8 million to R$37.2 million, audited financial statements, custody rules, proof of reserves and anti-money laundering programs. Argentine platform Lemon exited Brazil, while Coinext, NovaDAX and Digitra.com closed or reduced local retail operations. Companies that missed the deadline have 30 days to wind down, and banks and payment institutions face restrictions on dealing with unauthorized providers from November 6.
Brazilian taxpayers reported R$505.5 billion in crypto transactions during 2025, a 21.5% increase from the previous year, with dollar-pegged stablecoins accounting for roughly two-thirds of the volume. Binance submitted its application through BBrasil, and Itaú formalized crypto trading and custody services on October 27. The next regulatory phase is expected to focus on stablecoin issuance and real-world asset tokenization.
