Binance Hacked for $6.3 Billion, Bitwise CEO Says Bitcoin is More Resilient Than 10 Years Ago - World

Binance was hacked for $6.3 billion. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes Bitcoin is now more resilient compared to the Mt. Gox era. Check out the impact on investors.

The massive hack affecting Binance, valued at $6.3 billion, once again tests the resilience of the global cryptocurrency asset industry. However, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Bitwise, Matt Hougan, believes that the impact of this incident on Bitcoin (BTC) will not be the same as the cryptocurrency exchange crisis that occurred a decade ago.

According to Hougan, if a hack of this scale had occurred about ten years ago, the impact could have potentially destroyed the related exchange and put significant pressure on the sustainability of the Bitcoin ecosystem.

However, the current crypto industry has a more developed infrastructure, broader institutional participation, and relatively more mature incident handling mechanisms.

This statement was made after Binance experienced a theft of digital assets worth approximately $6.3 billion at the end of October 2026.

Nevertheless, the short-term impact on the market is still evident. The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF recorded a net outflow of approximately $643 million a day after the incident.

This development shows that the increasing maturity of the industry does not completely eliminate the risk of investor panic when a large-scale cyberattack occurs.

Matt Hougan: Binance Hack Does Not Change Bitcoin's Long-Term Outlook

Matt Hougan assesses that the Bitcoin industry has undergone fundamental changes compared to its condition in the early 2010s.

At that time, the Bitcoin ecosystem was heavily reliant on a small number of trading exchanges.

When one exchange experienced a major disruption, the impact could spread throughout the market due to limited infrastructure choices and investment access.

Now, the Bitcoin ecosystem has more service providers, custodial companies, investment instruments, and participation from traditional financial institutions.

Hougan believes these changes make the industry more capable of absorbing shocks arising from the failure of a single company.

However, this assessment is the view of an industry player, not a guarantee that Bitcoin will quickly recover from price pressures.

A major hack can still cause losses, disrupt liquidity, and diminish investor confidence in the short term.

Binance Loses $6.3 Billion in Crypto Assets

The Binance security incident is one of the largest events in the history of the crypto industry based on the reported value of stolen assets.

The attack occurred at the end of October 2026 and involved the infrastructure for storing digital assets.

The value of the theft is estimated to reach $6.3 billion, far exceeding several previous major incidents.

The scale of the attack raises concerns about the security of centralized exchanges.

In the crypto trading system, centralized exchanges play a crucial role as providers of transaction access, liquidity, and asset storage services.

However, the concentration of assets in custodial infrastructure can also pose a risk if security systems are breached.

Due to this, the Binance incident reaffirms the importance of cybersecurity management and the protection of customer assets.

Binance Claims to Cover Customer Losses

After the incident, Binance stated that it would cover the losses of affected customers.

The company also reported recovery measures to maintain operational continuity.

According to a report cited by BeInCrypto, Binance mentioned that it has closed losses of around US$6 billion.

Additionally, around US$3 billion in assets related to the theft have reportedly been successfully frozen with the help of several partners.

The amount frozen is equivalent to almost half of the reported value of the theft.

However, frozen assets do not automatically mean they have been successfully returned to their owners.

The recovery process may still involve blockchain tracing, inter-agency coordination, and legal procedures across various jurisdictions.

Binance has also begun to gradually reactivate withdrawal services since November 1, 2026, with Bitcoin being one of the first assets to be processed.

Mt. Gox Hack in 2014 as a Major Lesson

To understand Hougan's perspective, the history of the Mt. Gox hack serves as an important comparison.

Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world before filing for bankruptcy in February 2014.

The company reportedly lost around 950,000 BTC based on historical reports cited by BeInCrypto.

During that period, the price of Bitcoin experienced a decline of about 30% throughout February.

The Mt. Gox crisis became one of the events that most affected investor confidence in the Bitcoin industry in its early days.

At that time, market infrastructure was still limited and many investors relied on certain exchanges to store their assets.

The process of settling obligations to creditors took years.

Partial payments to creditors only began in 2024.

This event shows that custodial failures can result in financial and legal consequences that last far longer than a temporary price drop.

Bitfinex Hack in 2016 Also Shook BTC Prices

In addition to Mt. Gox, the Bitcoin industry experienced a major attack on Bitfinex in August 2016.

In that incident, around 120,000 BTC were reported stolen.

The price of Bitcoin dropped about 13% within two days around the announcement of the hack.

However, some of the decline occurred before the official announcement, so the entire price change cannot be definitively attributed solely to the hacking news.

The Bitfinex case illustrates how security incidents can heighten investor concerns about the risks of storing digital assets.

Nevertheless, the Bitcoin network continued to operate and the cryptocurrency trading industry continued to grow after the event.

The difference between blockchain network security and service provider security is an important lesson from various hacking cases.

Bybit Case in 2025 Shows Risks Are Not Gone

The Bybit hack in February 2025 serves as another example of the significant security risks facing crypto exchanges.

In that event, around US$1.5 billion in digital assets were reported stolen.

Bybit's reserves reportedly dropped from about US$10.8 billion to US$6.5 billion within days after the attack.

The incident also occurred when the crypto market was under pressure.

According to data from Glassnode cited by BeInCrypto, Bitcoin recorded a monthly decline of about 13.6% during a broader correction period.

A few days after the incident, the US spot Bitcoin ETF also experienced daily outflows of around US$1 billion.

However, the timing correlation between the hack, price decline, and ETF outflows is not sufficient to prove that the entire market pressure was caused by the attack.

Macroeconomic conditions, investor positions, and trading dynamics can also influence Bitcoin's movements.

FBI Links Attack to North Korean Hacking Group

According to a report cited by BeInCrypto, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States has linked the hacking of Binance to actors associated with North Korea.

The hacking group associated with the country has previously drawn attention in several major incidents in the digital asset industry.

Attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges can involve various techniques, ranging from credential theft to compromises of corporate infrastructure.

In such cases, tracing the flow of funds becomes an important part of the investigation process.

Publicly observable blockchain transactions help analytics firms identify asset movements.

However, perpetrators may also attempt to obscure their tracks through fund transfers between wallets, decentralized finance protocols, and asset exchange services.

Therefore, cooperation between exchanges, blockchain analytics providers, and law enforcement agencies is becoming increasingly important.

Why Hacking Exchanges is Not the Same as Hacking Bitcoin

One key point emphasized by Hougan is the difference between attacks on crypto companies and vulnerabilities in the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin is a decentralized blockchain network that uses consensus mechanisms to validate transactions.

Meanwhile, Binance is a company that provides trading and storage services for digital assets.

If the custodial system or internal infrastructure of the exchange is breached, the perpetrators can steal assets under the company's control.

However, such incidents do not automatically prove that the Bitcoin protocol has been hacked.

This distinction is important because the security of blockchain and the security of service providers have different risk models.

Investors holding Bitcoin through exchanges face additional risks related to the company's operations, governance, and management of private keys.

Bitcoin Spot ETF as Part of Industry Change

Hougan also highlighted the emergence of institutional investment instruments as one of the main differences compared to the past.

The presence of Bitcoin spot ETFs allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin price movements through capital market products.

These products use custodial mechanisms and oversight that differ from direct ownership through cryptocurrency exchange accounts.

However, ETFs also carry risks, including Bitcoin price volatility, custodial risks, and operational risks.

Therefore, ETFs cannot be considered completely free from security risks.

Nevertheless, the existence of various investment channels indicates that the Bitcoin ecosystem is no longer reliant on a single type of platform.

This development is one of the foundations of Hougan's optimism regarding the long-term resilience of the industry.

Bitcoin ETFs See $643 Million Outflow After Hacking

Amid Hougan's optimistic outlook, institutional investor responses remain cautious.

According to data from SoSoValue cited by BeInCrypto, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs experienced a net outflow of approximately $643 million a day after the Binance theft.

This outflow indicates that some investors are reducing their exposure to Bitcoin through ETF products.

However, ETF outflows do not always reflect direct sales by all institutional investors.

Fund movements can be influenced by portfolio adjustments, liquidity needs, and changes in market sentiment.

Additionally, Bitcoin prices had already been under pressure before the Binance attack occurred.

Thus, the hacking incident is better understood as one factor exacerbating sentiment, rather than the sole cause of price declines.

Is the Crypto Industry Safer Now?

The development of the industry over the past decade has shown improvements in several aspects.

Crypto companies now have access to custodial technology, blockchain analytics, transaction monitoring, and more advanced incident response mechanisms.

The participation of large financial institutions has also increased attention to risk management standards.

However, the improvement in infrastructure does not mean that all companies have the same level of security.

The Binance hack has shown that the risk of cyber attacks remains very high, even for companies with global operational scales.

Therefore, the security of the industry needs to be assessed through concrete evidence, such as audit results, asset management mechanisms, customer fund segregation, and incident handling capabilities.

Claims that the industry is maturing need to be tested through the effectiveness of customer protection during major disruptions.

What Does It Mean for Bitcoin Investors in Indonesia?

For Indonesian investors, the hack of a global exchange serves as a reminder of the importance of understanding the risks of storing crypto assets.

The risks of investing in Bitcoin do not only stem from price changes.

Investors also face account security risks, credential theft, platform disruptions, and operational failures of service providers.

Using multi-factor authentication, device protection, and withdrawal address verification can help mitigate some security risks.

However, these measures do not eliminate risks arising from the internal systems of companies.

Investors also need to understand the difference between storing assets through custodial providers and managing their private keys themselves.

Both methods have their advantages, responsibilities, and different risks.

Conclusion

The Binance hack worth US$6.3 billion is a significant test for the global crypto asset industry.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan assesses that an attack of this scale could have caused much greater damage if it had occurred a decade ago.

He believes that the development of infrastructure, institutional participation, and incident handling mechanisms have made the Bitcoin ecosystem more resilient than in the past.

However, short-term impacts are still evident through the outflow of US$643 million from US spot Bitcoin ETFs and increasing investor concerns.

The history of Mt. Gox, Bitfinex, and Bybit shows that attacks on exchanges can exert significant pressure on market confidence.

The Binance incident underscores that the resilience of the Bitcoin network and the security of service provider companies are two distinct yet equally important issues for investors.

This article is informative and not an investment recommendation. Recovery figures and asset freezes refer to reports available until November 2, 2026.

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