In the wake of the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has broken his silence with a stark assessment of the industry’s vulnerabilities. Speaking in his first public interview since the October 29 incident, Zhao warned that artificial intelligence is dramatically accelerating the pace and sophistication of cyberattacks, and that the sector must respond in kind.
The October 29 breach drained an estimated $6.3 billion from Binance hot wallets across multiple blockchains in roughly 20 minutes. Binance has repeatedly stated that user funds are safe and that the company will cover all losses from its own reserves. Blockchain analytics firms and the FBI have attributed the attack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group.
AI Is Speeding Up Attacks
Zhao told the Talking Tokens podcast that the threat is no longer limited to individual exchanges. Because crypto is increasingly intertwined with stablecoins, tokenized assets, and traditional finance, a major incident carries national-security implications.
“The speed of hacking is going to pick up because of AI capabilities [being] so strong now. At the same time, we’ve got to use more AI to defend. The only way to fight a monster is to kind of become that monster,” Zhao said.
He added that attackers only need to find one weakness, while defenders must identify and close every possible entry point. “For attack, you only need to find one crack. To defend yourself, you need to find all the cracks and then fix them.”
Zhao also cautioned that traditional banks may be even more exposed: “If a crypto exchange can be hacked, banks are in a worse position, in my opinion.”
Call for an Industry Security Alliance
Rather than treating security as a problem each firm must solve alone, Zhao is pushing for collective action. He encouraged the formation of an industry alliance focused on sharing lessons, best practices, cross-audits, and rapid fund freezes.
“As an industry, I encourage […] forming some kind of industry alliance on security to help each other learn from each other’s mistakes, share the best practices, cross audits, help each other freeze funds very quickly, etc.”
He described security as an ongoing process rather than a finished milestone, and noted that discussions about such an alliance were already underway.
Transparency After the Breach
On X, Zhao later emphasized accountability. In a November 4 post responding to comments about Binance’s detailed incident report, he wrote:
“A hack of this scale means serious security failures occurred. No platform is unhackable, but that cannot be an excuse. Every incident exposes weaknesses that should have been prevented. […] Sharing those details, however uncomfortable, helps the wider industry learn. As a shareholder, I expect Binance to be transparent about what went wrong, take responsibility, learn from all criticism, and make meaningful improvements.”
A hack of this scale means serious security failures occurred. No platform is unhackable, but that cannot be an excuse. Every incident exposes weaknesses that should have been prevented. Some details are embarrassing. Public explanations also simplify what appears to have been a… https://t.co/ZMAjZt2hF8
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) November 4, 2026
The post underscored his view that public post-mortems, even when embarrassing, strengthen the entire ecosystem.
Who is Changpeng Zhao?
Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, is the Chinese-Canadian co-founder and former CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Born in China and raised partly in Canada, he worked in high-frequency trading technology before discovering Bitcoin and launching Binance in 2017. The exchange grew rapidly into a global giant.
In 2023, Zhao stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and U.S. authorities. He served a four-month prison sentence and was later pardoned. He remains a major shareholder and continues to comment publicly on crypto markets, security, and regulation. His official X account is @cz_binance.
Looking Ahead
Zhao’s remarks highlight a growing consensus that AI-driven threats require both technological and organizational responses. With multiple high-profile incidents already recorded in recent weeks, including the Binance breach and smaller attacks on other platforms, the call for faster information sharing and coordinated freezes is likely to gain traction. Whether the industry can turn that proposal into a functioning alliance will be a key test of its maturity.
For deeper background on the incident itself, readers may also want to review CryptoPress coverage of how the signing systems were compromised and how freezes limited the damage: The $6.3 Billion Binance Hack: Keys Held, Signing System Failed, Freeze Button Saved Nearly Half.
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