Here is this week's review of the most important events and background stories in blockchain and cryptocurrencies: a record-breaking hack at Binance, ICE's push into Hyperliquid perps, final US approval for Ripple's trust bank, prediction markets overtaking crypto at Robinhood, and Bitcoin's slide to a six-week low.

Binance Hit by Record USD 6.3 Billion Hack

Crypto exchange Binance, the world's largest exchange by trading volume, has suffered the largest hack in cryptocurrency history. According to the company's estimate, crypto assets flowed out across ten blockchains in about 20 minutes, and Binance puts the damage at USD 6.3 billion. That is more than four times the previous record at the exchange Bybit, and the sum far exceeds everything attackers stole in the whole of 2025. The earlier record dates from February 2025, when Bybit lost around USD 1.5 billion in an attack that investigators likewise attributed to North Korean actors.

Several analytics firms see North Korea as the perpetrator. Around USD 3 billion has since been frozen, mainly because the stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle can block individual addresses. The attacker, however, still holds around USD 3.3 billion that no issuer can block.

Binance nevertheless intends to cover all losses and has set aside USD 6.34 billion from company funds for this purpose. Withdrawals remain suspended for now. The exchange aims to resume them gradually from Sunday, although it calls this a target rather than a commitment. In addition, Binance will publish proof on Monday that its reserves cover customer balances. Public reserve attestations became widespread across the industry after the 2022 collapse of the exchange FTX, which left customers cut off from their funds.

As a result, crypto is once again making mainstream headlines because of a scandal. Binance also carries a burden from its past. In 2023, the company pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money laundering violations and paid a USD 4.3 billion fine. The market reacted nervously: the Binance token BNB lost around 8%, and crypto stocks such as Coinbase also fell. Whether customers actually withdraw their trust from the exchange will only become clear once withdrawals resume. Binance currently reports around USD 134 billion in customer funds.

Coverage: Binance hit by record USD 6.3 billion hack

NYSE Parent ICE Targets Retail Investors With Hyperliquid

ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, wants to offer regulated Hyperliquid perps to US retail investors through Trade[XYZ], a firm in which Stan Druckenmiller has invested. Perpetual futures, or perps, are leveraged derivative contracts without a fixed expiry date; they are among the most heavily traded instruments in crypto, yet US retail investors have had only limited access to them through regulated venues. Hyperliquid is the decentralized exchange where these contracts are currently traded, and Druckenmiller is a veteran macro hedge fund manager. A traditional exchange operator of this stature moving into the segment would mark one of the most prominent attempts to bring perps inside the US regulatory perimeter.

Coverage: ICE plans to bring Hyperliquid perps to the US with Trade[XYZ]

Ripple Places Stablecoin Reserves Under Federal Supervision

Ripple reports final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its national trust bank, which will manage the reserves of the RLUSD stablecoin under federal oversight. The OCC is the US authority that charters and supervises national banks and federal trust companies, and stablecoin reserves matter because they are the assets backing a token's promised dollar value.

Coverage: Ripple wins final OCC approval for national trust bank

Prediction Markets Overtake Crypto at Robinhood

US online broker Robinhood missed earnings estimates in the third quarter. It earned USD 0.51 per share, while analysts had expected USD 0.55. Crypto trading performed particularly poorly, with revenue plunging 55% to USD 120 million, as trading volume in the company's retail app shrank by almost half.

By contrast, prediction markets, where customers bet on the outcome of events, grew strongly. Their revenue more than sextupled to USD 173 million, surpassing crypto trading. Overall, net revenue rose 12% to a record USD 1.42 billion despite the crypto slump. However, higher costs and book losses on an in-house fund weighed on profit. The stock fell around 7% to USD 87.60 in after-hours trading.

Robinhood only entered prediction markets in late 2024, through event contracts offered in partnership with the US exchange operator Kalshi, which makes the segment's rapid climb to a leading revenue source notable. According to management, October trading volume was roughly in line with the previous quarter. In prediction markets, it was about 10% higher.

Coverage: Robinhood misses profit estimates after crypto slump

Bitcoin Slides to a Six-Week Low

Bitcoin slipped below USD 80,000 in the Asian session, as Samsung's quarterly results and the Fed's rate decision weighed on risk assets. In recent years, Bitcoin has often moved in step with technology stocks, making it sensitive to shifts in interest-rate expectations.

Coverage: Asian stocks and the Fed push Bitcoin below USD 80,000