Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, asked Elon Musk to stop mocking the exchange after a $6.4 billion cryptocurrency hack, pointing to Binance’s SpaceX shares, which he said are worth more than $1 billion.

“​​Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop,” CZ wrote on X. “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!” Binance was among the outside investors in Musk’s roughly $44 billion purchase of Twitter, which closed in October 2022 and preceded the platform’s rebranding as X.

The post followed Musk’s response to a discussion estimating that Binance’s losses could reach about $1 billion after many of the stolen funds were frozen. The exchange reportedly held approximately $144 billion in assets under custody. Musk replied to the discussion with a grimacing emoji, after which another user shared an old post by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried claiming that FTX had enough money to cover its losses. FTX collapsed weeks later. The exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, and the episode made public assurances about exchange solvency an enduring point of scrutiny across the industry.

CZ’s post on X is available here: https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116097554882728341

CZ had initially responded to the loss estimate by saying the damage might be somewhat higher but that Binance would still be able to cover it. Musk’s emoji appeared to draw a parallel with the FTX episode, although Musk did not explain what he meant.

Binance co-CEO Yi He then addressed CZ in a post that appeared to respond to the suggestion that the company might need to sell 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.

CZ later clarified that he had never suggested selling the shares. He said he was simply showing Musk some of the funds available to Binance in an effort to reassure him about the exchange’s financial position.

“😂 did say anything about selling SPCX shares, was just saying/showing some funds that he might know, so that he can be less worried.” — CZ 🔶 BNB, October 30, 2026

The clarification was posted on X at https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116104025603244418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The exchange is dealing with what has been described as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. At least $6.4 billion in crypto was taken from wallets associated with Binance on Thursday, October 29, across multiple blockchains.

Initial reports said that at least $5.57 billion had left Binance-linked wallets across Ethereum, Bitcoin and Tron. The attackers moved the funds through multiple transactions, including a transfer of more than $1.6 billion in USDT to a newly created Ethereum address.

The incident also highlighted differences in how cryptocurrency assets can be recovered after a theft. Tether and Circle, the companies behind the USDT and USDC stablecoins, initially froze approximately $1.8 billion in assets associated with the attackers. They subsequently froze a total of $2.39 billion. Ethereum, unlike those stablecoins, cannot be frozen by a central issuer, making stolen funds more difficult to stop after they are converted into ETH.

The attackers subsequently used decentralized exchanges including Uniswap and the lending protocol Aave to move funds into Ethereum. These platforms allow users to trade or borrow cryptocurrency without relying on a traditional intermediary to approve each transaction. Decrypt tracked wallets receiving tens of thousands of ETH through the operations, including 19,762 ETH borrowed against approximately $60 million in USDT.

In a Friday report, blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korea-linked hacking group previously blamed for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, which had stood as the largest theft on record before Thursday’s incident. United Nations investigators have previously reported that stolen cryptocurrency helps finance North Korea’s weapons programs. Chainalysis estimated the Binance theft at approximately $6.4 billion. The firms’ report is referenced at https://decrypt.co/382224/trm-and-chainalysis-tie-6-4b-binance-hack-to-north-koreas-tradertraitor

Binance has said it reserved more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the incident, including $5 billion already held in the same tokens that were stolen. The exchange said it was acquiring the remaining assets through market and over-the-counter purchases, a process that can take longer when some tokens have limited liquidity. The completion of those purchases, and the final status of the roughly $2.39 billion in frozen assets, are among the details to watch as the aftermath unfolds.

The freeze of approximately $2.39 billion in assets was previously reported at https://decrypt.co/382191/binance-suspected-hack-5-billion-tether-circle-freeze-crypto. Decrypt’s reporting on the attackers’ use of decentralized finance platforms is available at https://decrypt.co/382194/binance-hack-exit-ramps-defi-exchange-ethereum.