Stablecoins & Payments · Latest

North Korean Lazarus Group Linked to $6.3 bn Binance Hack

Two blockchain analytics firms, TRM Labs and Chainalysis, have identified the North Korean state‑backed Lazarus Group (also known as TraderTraitor) as the likely perpetrators of the $6.3 bn (£4.7 bn) theft from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The group reportedly gained access to Binance’s hot‑wallet signing system, enabling automated transfers of funds. Binance’s co‑CEO Richard Teng said the breach was broader than an engineer’s laptop compromise and that about 80 % of the stolen assets have been recovered, with the remainder still missing. The incident follows a series of high‑profile cyber‑attacks attributed to North Korea, including the 2014 Sony Pictures hack and the 2022 theft of $620 m in crypto from Bybit, and underscores the country’s use of cybercrime to finance its regime.

Binance Hackers Convert $6.3 B in Stolen Crypto Before Authorities Freeze Assets

The largest crypto‑world theft began at 8:04 pm UTC Thursday when attackers linked to the North Korean group behind last month’s Bitget hack seized roughly $6.3 B in cryptocurrency from Binance. They immediately moved the stolen stablecoins—USDT and USDC, which can be frozen by their issuers—into non‑frozen assets such as BTC and ETH. Within an hour, $500 M of USDT had been sent to a single address, and $325 M was sold for ETH by 20:59 UTC. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle, along with other entities, began blacklisting the attackers’ addresses within minutes, freezing about $1.567 B in USDT and $823 M in USDC. Binance reported that around $3 B of the stolen funds were on‑chain frozen, and it is collaborating with law enforcement, issuers and blockchain analytics firms to trace the remaining assets. Decentralized protocols also acted: Arbitrum’s Security Council moved $30.5 M in ARB and ETH into a frozen wallet, and Aave V3 saw a $60 M USDT deposit from an attacker‑linked wallet. While freezing stops the attackers from spending the assets, it does not automatically recover them for Binance or its users.

Tether Reports $1.5 B Q3 Operating Profit and Nearly Doubles Excess Reserves to $7.95 B

Tether announced a third‑quarter operating profit of $1.5 billion, with its excess reserves rising to $7.95 billion – almost double the $4.1 billion reported in June. At the end of September the company held $191.5 billion in assets against $183.5 billion in liabilities, leaving a reserve surplus of $7.95 billion. Assets include $132.4 billion in direct and indirect U.S. Treasury bill holdings, comparable to South Korea’s $134.2 billion exposure and exceeding the United Arab Emirates’ $116.1 billion. Over the first nine months of 2026, Tether generated $4.5 billion in net operating profit, largely driven by Treasury bills and reverse repurchase agreements. Bitcoin reserves were valued at $8.37 billion, up from about $5.8 billion at the end of June. USDT remains the largest stablecoin, representing roughly 60% of the $297.3 billion stablecoin market, and its user base has surpassed 700 million, largely in emerging markets.

ECB Executive Member Philip Lane Highlights AI’s Role in Boosting Euro‑Area Productivity

Philip R. Lane, a member of the ECB Executive Board, spoke at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Economic Research Symposium on AI and the economy. He explained that while cutting‑edge AI models are largely developed in the United States and China, the adoption of AI will be a key determinant of productivity growth in the euro area in the coming years. AI spending already represents a significant stimulus to the euro‑area economy. Lane noted that European firms are integral to the global AI supply chain and that European investors are funding the worldwide build‑out of AI infrastructure through equity, debt markets and the banking system. He also highlighted data from ECB surveys that shed light on the AI adoption process and its implications for the financial system. Digital investment in the euro area has risen by 73 % in real terms since 2014, growing from 2.3 % to 3.3 % of GDP. This growth, especially the acceleration since 2024, signals a structural shift in the euro‑area economy, with most digital investment concentrated in intangible assets rather than data‑centre infrastructure.

Binance Loses $6.4 B in North‑Korean Hack, Users Covered by SAFU Fund

A North‑Korean hacker group stole roughly $6.4 B from Binance, the largest crypto theft ever, by compromising a DevOps engineer’s laptop. The stolen assets were spread across three blockchains: about $3.5 B in ETH, $1.4 B in BTC and $630 M on Tron. Stable‑coin issuers Tether and Circle used their built‑in freeze mechanisms to lock about $2.39 B, leaving $2.6‑$3.2 B still unaccounted for. Binance announced it had set aside $6.34 B from its SAFU fund to fully cover user losses and stated that user funds are “completely safe.” Aave also froze its V3 and V4 markets on Ethereum to prevent the attacker from using the stolen funds to create bad debt. The incident caused Bitcoin to dip below $77.5 k, ETH under $2,200, and BNB under $700, with over $1.33 B in positions liquidated.

TRM and Chainalysis Tie $6.4B Binance Hack to North Korea's TraderTraitor

Binance Loses $6.15 Billion in 31 Minutes as Hackers Exploit EIP‑7702 Authorization

On October 29, 2026, an attacker drained approximately $6.15 billion from Binance’s hot wallets across nine blockchains in just 31 minutes. The theft did not involve stolen private keys; instead, the attacker leveraged Binance’s own authorization system, specifically the EIP‑7702 feature that allows a smart contract to act on a wallet’s behalf. Prior to the attack, the attacker funded their wallets via Tornado Cash to obscure the source of funds and conducted two rehearsals on their own wallets to test a custom smart‑contract draining tool. The final version of the tool could execute arbitrary calls on delegated wallets, enabling the attacker to command a Binance smart wallet to release 823 million USDC. The incident highlights a critical vulnerability in Binance’s hot‑wallet management and the broader risks of permission‑based smart‑contract interactions in cryptocurrency exchanges.

Binance Reports $6.3 B Loss After North Korean‑Linked Hacker Group TraderTraitor Steals Crypto

Binance says the hack has cost the exchange roughly $6.3 billion, with about $3 billion of cryptocurrency already frozen. The stolen assets include USDT, USDC, RLUSD, USD1, XUSD, USDT0, WBETH, XAUT, PAXG, USDP and ARB. Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Blockaid and other security firms point to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor as the likely culprit, a group also linked to the ByBit and Kelp DAO attacks. Binance has paused withdrawals while it revamps its security, but deposits remain active and withdrawals are expected to resume within 48 hours. The incident has prompted speculation that the breach could accelerate a shift from centralized exchanges to decentralized platforms such as Uniswap.

Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial freeze $2.6 billion linked to suspected Binance breach

Stablecoin issuers Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial froze over $2.6 billion in digital assets tied to a suspected Binance security breach involving nearly $6 billion in outflows. Tether froze $1.567 billion in USDT and Circle froze $823 million in USDC. Ripple froze $200 million and World Liberty Financial restricted $27 million. The freezes followed Kairos Research estimating about $5.7 billion leaving Binance hot wallets via a security breach in late October.

Binance hacker uses Uniswap and Aave to swap frozen stablecoins for ETH

Binance hacker wallets drained at least $5.5 billion, with about 253,000 ETH ($570 million) held in two wallets without outgoing transfers as of 22:07 UTC. The attacker swapped stablecoins on Uniswap and borrowed ETH on Aave, exploiting the fact that ETH has no issuer that can freeze funds, unlike stablecoins. Ripple froze $200 million in RLUSD, while Tether and Circle blacklisted attacker addresses, freezing over $2 billion in USDT and USDC. Aave froze its V3 markets on Ethereum mainnet, and Kamino paused Solana and Bitcoin markets as a precaution.

Binance Reports $6.3 B Impact from Unauthorized Withdrawals, Covers Losses

Binance says a security incident involving unauthorized withdrawals has caused an estimated $6.3 billion in total impact, with about $3 billion frozen on‑chain so far. The exchange claims it will cover all losses from its SAFU fund and company funds, and user funds are safe. Deposits and withdrawals are suspended while the investigation continues. Circle and Tether have frozen roughly $823 m and $971 m of stablecoins tied to the incident. On‑chain analysis links the Binance exploit to the $388 m Bitget hack, suggesting a common attacker. Binance’s initial investigation points to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop that allowed unauthorized service‑container access, with no evidence of a private‑key leak.

Binance wallets drained of $5.57 billion in suspected hack, Tether and Circle freeze $1.8 billion

At least $5.57 billion left Binance-linked wallets across Ethereum, Bitcoin and Tron on Thursday, in what appears to be the largest crypto hack on record. Tether froze 975.1 million USDT and Circle froze 823 million USDC in the main receiving wallet, bringing total frozen assets to about $1.8 billion. Bitcoin fell below $79,000 and BNB dropped about 7% as the market reacted.

Binance confirms largest crypto hack in history, $5.5 billion traced from hot wallets

Blockchain investigators traced up to $5.5 billion in suspicious transfers from Binance hot wallets on Thursday. Tether froze over $1.567 billion in USDT and Circle froze over $800 million in USDC. Security researchers suspect attackers exploited the Ethereum feature EIP-7702 to gain control of a Binance wallet, submitting 50 signed authorizations before successfully draining approximately 167,464 ETH and 1.615 billion USDT. Both Binance exchange withdrawals and Binance Alpha trading remain suspended.

Microsoft Posts 10th Consecutive Quarter of Record Revenue

Microsoft announced quarterly revenue of $92.3 billion, up 19% from the same period a year earlier, marking the tenth straight quarter of record‑breaking sales. Net income rose 32% to $36.6 billion. The surge was driven largely by Microsoft Cloud, which generated $63.9 billion—30% higher YoY—comprising $33.2 billion from Azure and $10 billion from OpenAI services. Microsoft 365 contributed nearly $28 billion. Devices and Consumer revenue fell 3% to $15.5 billion, with Windows OEM and device sales down 22%. Capital expenditures hit $45.2 billion, a new quarterly high, and commercial remaining performance obligations increased 73% to $677 billion, reflecting future AI‑related contracts.

Microsoft Earns $10 B from OpenAI in Q3 2026, 11% of Total Revenue

Microsoft reported $10 billion in revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, according to a regulatory filing. That figure represents almost 11% of Microsoft’s $92.3 billion quarterly revenue. For the full 2026 fiscal year, revenue from OpenAI totaled $24.1 billion, implying an annualized rate of about $40 billion if the current pace continues. Microsoft also disclosed $7.2 billion in outstanding receivables from OpenAI as of September 30, up from $6 billion at the end of June. The source of the revenue—whether from revenue‑sharing payments, Azure cloud services, or other commercial arrangements—has not been clarified. OpenAI has committed to continue sharing revenue with Microsoft through 2030 under a capped agreement, while also agreeing to purchase an additional $250 billion in Azure services as part of an October 2025 deal. Microsoft’s ownership stake in OpenAI fell from about 25% in June to 24% in September, part of a gradual decline following the October 2025 recapitalization.

Microsoft Reveals Azure Generated $33.2 B in Q3, Outpacing Google Cloud

Microsoft disclosed that its Azure cloud platform earned $33.2 billion in revenue for the July–September quarter, a 48% year‑over‑year increase. This marks the first time Microsoft has reported Azure’s revenue in dollars, allowing a direct comparison with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. In the same period, Alphabet reported $30.7 billion for Google Cloud, while AWS continues to lead the market but has not yet released dollar‑level figures. Azure’s revenue now accounts for roughly 36% of Microsoft’s $92.3 billion quarterly revenue, surpassing analyst expectations of $32.3 billion and exceeding the growth rate forecast by CFO Amy Hood. The disclosure places Azure as Microsoft’s largest and fastest‑growing product line and signals a more transparent race among the top cloud providers.

VCs eye billions as Anthropic prepares for IPO, but Amazon stands to profit far more via convertible notes

Anthropic's S-1 filing reveals that venture firms including Menlo Ventures and Sequoia are expected to return billions from the IPO, yet none hold a 5% stake, a highly unusual situation for a tech IPO. Instead, Amazon emerges as the primary financial beneficiary, holding convertible notes with $6.2 billion in principal that the S-1 valued at $97.9 billion as of June 30. Amazon further invested $10 billion in non-voting preferred stock during the second quarter, bringing its total investment to approximately $18 billion. Beyond stock gains, Amazon is committed to spending at least $110 billion on its AWS cloud platform over the next decade.

Coinbase to automatically convert restricted tokens for European users ahead of MiCA deadline

Coinbase will automatically convert or restrict 14 crypto tokens held by European customers by Oct. 30, citing the EU's MiCA regulation. Affected assets include USDT, PYUSD, USD1, DAI, PAX, GUSD, GYEN, BUST, UST, RAI, PAXG, MUSD, USDS and TGBP. Users must withdraw holdings or accept conversion to USDC or other supported assets. Coinbase attributes the move to the expiration of the transitional period for stablecoin issuers under MiCA on July 1, 2026.

SpaceX secures $40 billion GPU lease from Apollo, Musk warns of neocloud consolidation

SpaceX signed a binding commitment for approximately $40 billion in GPU leases from an Apollo-managed entity, with leases starting in the first half of 2027 and the master lease expected to close before the end of 2026. Elon Musk warned that debt markets have largely cut off funding for companies without substantial revenue outside AI data centers, predicting "guppy-level death and consolidation" among the 200+ neoclouds. SpaceX, which recently absorbed xAI, stated it is investment grade and has revenue from Starlink and rocket launches independent of AI.

Ukraine’s battlefield relies on Starlink as EU’s Iris² network remains years away

Ukraine’s military and civilians depend on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet for real‑time communications and drone operations. A sudden slowdown last week exposed the vulnerability of relying on a single US‑based provider. Alternatives such as France’s Eutelsat/OneWeb constellation, with only about 600 active satellites, lag far behind Starlink’s 10,000‑plus network. The EU is developing a rival system, Iris², but it is not expected to be operational until 2029. Until then, Ukraine can only tap into the EU’s Govsatcom sharing network, which cannot support military‑grade tasks like drone control. Musk warned that cutting Starlink would collapse the Ukrainian front line, highlighting the strategic importance of satellite connectivity in modern warfare.