Binance Co-Founder CZ Says No Platform Has 100% Security After $6.3 Billion Hack Attributed to North Korea

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, publicly addressed the $6.3 billion hack of the exchange in an interview with Yahoo Finance, acknowledging that no crypto platform can guarantee absolute security. Speaking with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi, CZ said the breach was larger in magnitude than he anticipated but framed it as an industry-wide vulnerability, stating the risk applies to every crypto platform, wallet service, and bank.

The hack, described as a 20-minute raid, has been attributed with high confidence to TraderTraitor, an elite state-sponsored cyber unit linked to North Korea, by blockchain intelligence firms and the FBI. North Korea denied involvement. Around $3 billion of the stolen cryptocurrency assets have been frozen so far, with recovery of bitcoin and ether proving more difficult.

Binance moved quickly to contain the fallout, guaranteeing full customer restitution by deploying corporate treasury reserves, its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) capital, and insurance funds to cover user balances. CZ confirmed that withdrawals have been restored, systems are back to normal, and no user suffered a financial loss. Analysts at Fundstrat Global Advisors said the breach does not currently appear to pose a significant solvency risk for Binance.

Beyond the immediate incident, CZ used the moment to warn that AI-driven cyber threats pose growing risks to the global financial system, and argued that traditional banks may in fact be more vulnerable to such attacks than centralized crypto exchanges. He called for stronger cybersecurity standards and greater coordination among governments across the financial sector.