CZ Says the Binance Hack Is Smaller Than Mt. Gox in Bitcoin Terms. What Did Bitcoin Do After Mt. Gox? - Yahoo Finance
North Korea-linked hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, though only 18,270 BTC were taken, far fewer than Mt. Gox's 650,000 BTC.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, pushed back on the size of the theft on October 30, 2026. He acknowledged the hack is the biggest in USD terms but emphasized it's not the largest in Bitcoin terms compared to Mt. Gox. "It hurts, but we survive," said CZ.
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the Binance theft involved around 18,270 BTC. The hackers dispersed these coins across 19 addresses with roughly 1,000 BTC each. These addresses haven't moved the stolen funds to exchanges or mixers, where such assets are typically resold or laundered.
Historical Context
When considering the number of coins stolen, CZ's argument holds water. In 2014, Mt. Gox initially reported 850,000 BTC missing, though this was later adjusted to a loss of 650,000 BTC as some coins resurfaced. The Bitfinex hack in 2016 took 120,000 BTC.
Bitcoin's price history shows mixed reactions after major exchange hacks. After Bitfinex and FTX, Bitcoin surged 389.5% and 91.9% within a year, but fell 51.5% after Mt. Gox as a bear market took hold. Before the Binance hack, Bitcoin had already fallen 8.52% over 30 days and 11.37% year-to-date, with its chart resembling 2014's bear market.
Market Impact
Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) trades at $77,614, which is 38.44% below its all-time high of $126,080 reached on October 6, 2025. DefiLlama, a crypto data tracker, ranks the Binance hack above the LuBian ($3.5 billion) and Bybit ($1.4 billion) hacks combined.
Binance says customer funds are safe. Wall Street and crypto holders spent the last days of October 2026 trying to gauge the biggest theft the industry has ever recorded. The market will be watching closely to see if Bitcoin follows historical patterns after this unprecedented breach.
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