Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, publicly rebuked Elon Musk after the Tesla founder and X owner appeared to make jokes about the exchange as it dealt with what Binance estimates is the largest security breach in crypto history.

CZ’s response came within hours of the reported $6.3 billion hack. He reminded Musk that Binance contributed about $500 million to Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, a deal valued at $44 billion, and asked him to show support rather than continue the exchange online.

“Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop. 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!” CZ wrote on X on October 30, 2026:

https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116097554882728341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The Binance stake in the Twitter transaction has since doubled in value and is now worth more than $1 billion, according to the article.

CZ responds to Musk’s posts

CZ’s request followed several posts from Musk that appeared to poke fun at Binance’s situation. In one post, Musk shared a grimacing emoji in response to a thread about the hack:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2116025797400236362

CZ reiterated that he respected Musk but wrote, “bad time to troll,” and asked him to “Please stop” and “show a little support.” He also responded to another post in which Musk appeared to make light of an earlier cybersecurity comment by Zhao.

Zhao had previously written that the breach “is more complex than that, but all hacks generally have a compromised device (or algorithm) at some point.”

https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116082886810218831

CZ’s reference to Binance’s shareholdings prompted a public reply from co-founder Yi He. Addressing CZ and Musk, she wrote: “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.”

https://x.com/heyibinance/status/2116101170079076558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

CZ later clarified that he was not proposing a sale of the shares. He said he was only pointing to funds Musk “might know” about so that the Tesla and SpaceX chief would “be less worried.”

The exchange between the two billionaires’ companies’ leaders followed earlier public clashes. During a 2021 episode, Musk criticized stalled Dogecoin withdrawals on Binance as “shady.” CZ responded by linking to a Tesla vehicle recall.

In December 2024, Musk replied “Thanks!” after CZ referred to Binance’s $500 million contribution to Musk’s 2022 Twitter acquisition, according to a report by Cryptopolitan:

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/cz-brags-helping-elon-buy-twitter/

CZ’s later clarification was posted on X here:

https://x.com/cz_binance/status/2116104025603244418

Binance describes the security breach

Binance estimates that the security incident, which began Thursday, cost approximately $6.3 billion. The figure would make it the largest hack in crypto history.

The exchange initially blamed a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, a role that typically carries broad access to the internal systems a company relies on to run its services. Binance said the laptop may have enabled an attacker to reach a service container and process unauthorized withdrawals. The company later expanded that account, saying its investigation had “uncovered additional points of breach.”

Binance CEO Richard Teng wrote on Friday that the attacker “did not simply use one engineer’s permissions, and this was not a single ‘one-click’ action.” He described the incident as a more involved attack process.

The company said it had found no evidence that a wallet private key had been leaked and had not assigned responsibility to any individual.

Binance said it had frozen approximately $3 billion of the stolen funds on-chain, just under half of the estimated $6.3 billion loss. The exchange also said it would absorb all losses through its SAFU emergency fund and company reserves, so the cost is to be borne by the exchange rather than its users. That commitment aligns with Yi He’s assertion that annual revenue was sufficient to cover the losses.

Deposits have reopened, while withdrawals remain paused. Binance said it was on track to restore withdrawals within 45 hours. The 45-hour restoration deadline and any further findings from an investigation the company says has already widened are the immediate markers to watch as the situation develops.