Binance’s $6.4B Hack Sparks a SpaceX Showdown Between CZ and Elon Musk 🚀

At least $6.4 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen from wallets associated with Binance on Thursday, October 29, 2026, prompting co-founder Changpeng Zhao to ask Elon Musk for support as the exchange’s financial position came under scrutiny.

Musk reacted to a post estimating that frozen stolen funds could leave Binance facing losses of around $1 billion despite approximately $144 billion in assets under custody by posting a grimacing emoji. The response drew comparisons to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who had claimed his exchange had enough money to cover its losses weeks before FTX collapsed.

Zhao, better known as CZ, responded on X: “Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop,” adding: “Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion. Would appreciate if you show a little support. Thanks!” He later clarified that he had not proposed selling the SpaceX shares and was instead showing Musk funds that could ease concerns about Binance’s financial position.

Binance co-CEO Yi He also weighed in, addressing CZ in a post that appeared to respond to suggestions the company might liquidate its SpaceX holdings. “Reporting to the major shareholder: Our company's revenue for the year is sufficient to cover the losses, so we do not yet need to sell the SpaceX shares you are bullish on,” she wrote, adding a shrugging emoji.

Initial reports indicated that at least $5.57 billion had left Binance-linked wallets across Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron. The attackers moved the funds through several transactions, including a transfer of more than $1.6 billion in USDT to a newly created Ethereum address, as the exchange dealt with the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.