Tether freezes over $4.5 million in USDT linked to Mercado Bitcoin breach
Tether has frozen more than $4.5 million in USDT connected to a security breach at crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin in Brazil. Arkham Intelligence identified approximately $46 million in cryptocurrency in wallets attributed to the attacker. On-chain analyst Specter reported that coordinated interventions had immobilized more than $9 million across nine digital assets. Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals but said customers incurred no financial losses and personal information remained secure. The exchange provided no timetable for reopening and has not disclosed the attack's financial extent.
Industry leaders at Hong Kong's Fintech Week are seeking ways to combat crypto crime after a US$6.43 billion Binance hack. More than US$3 billion in stolen assets remain with alleged North Korean hackers. Binance said the attackers likely used an engineer's compromised laptop to make unauthorised withdrawals. Customers withdrew US$3.64 billion when Binance reopened on Sunday. Fireblocks executive Tim Way said AI's ability to accelerate the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities makes multilayered security and risk management essential.
Custodia Bank urges Supreme Court to review Fed master account ruling
Bitcoin.com News reported that Custodia Bank filed a reply brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. The ruling permits regional Federal Reserve Banks to refuse master accounts to depository institutions despite those institutions meeting statutory requirements.
North Korea rejects US claim linking it to Binance theft, KCNA says
North Korea on Tuesday rejected US allegations linking North Korea to the Binance cryptocurrency theft, state news agency KCNA reported. The FBI said at the weekend that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance. The theft could be the biggest financial heist ever. KCNA quoted ruling party official Kim Yo Jong calling the US allegation "absurd rhetoric" and a serious political provocation.
Strategy's deployable USD Cash dropped 45.3%, from $242 million to $133 million, during the week ended Nov. 1 as preferred-stock repurchases exceeded Bitcoin purchases. Strategy spent $208 million on STRC preferred-stock buybacks, a weekly record. Strategy bought 811 Bitcoin for approximately $66 million between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, according to a Nov. 2 regulatory filing. Strategy raised $164 million in net proceeds through common-stock sales, the company's only fresh equity funding during the period. A separate $4.79 billion USD Reserve was designated for preferred-stock dividends and debt interest rather than broader treasury uses.
Kim Jong-un's sister reportedly rejects FBI link to $6 billion Binance hack
Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday that Kim Yo-jong denied North Korea was responsible for last week's Binance hack, which exceeded $6 billion. The FBI and onchain investigators attributed the largest crypto hack on record to North Korean hackers. Binance said earlier on Monday that Binance had replaced about 95% of the affected assets using Binance's own funds. The FBI did not immediately answer a request for comment.
New Jersey ends Coinbase staking ban and drops $5 million penalty before midterms
New Jersey's securities regulator withdrew a Coinbase staking restriction and a $5 million penalty, allowing Coinbase to restore access for state residents. The October 30 notice rescinded the 2023 order without prejudice or a decision on the merits, leaving open the possibility of future enforcement. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said New Jersey customers would regain staking access "very soon". California, Maryland, Wisconsin and Washington continue to pursue enforcement cases against Coinbase's staking services.
Strive buys 124 Bitcoin for about $10 million, lifting holdings to 43,124 BTC
Strive bought 124 Bitcoin for about $10 million last week, increasing the company's holdings to 43,124 BTC. CEO Matt Cole said the purchase averaged $80,526 per Bitcoin, including fees. Bitcoin Treasuries data places Strive fourth among publicly traded companies, 390 BTC behind Twenty One Capital and 876 BTC behind Metaplanet. Strive financed most of the purchase with existing cash and raised money through the company's SATS preferred stock program for the first time. Strive's Bitcoin holdings are now worth roughly $3.3 billion, below the $3.8 billion acquisition cost listed in the company's prospectus.
Swan Bitcoin founder warns AI poses a more immediate security threat than quantum computing
Swan Bitcoin founder Cory Klippsten warned that AI threatens Bitcoin security more immediately than quantum computing as hackers increasingly use large language models to find vulnerabilities. Klippsten estimated that quantum computers capable of compromising Bitcoin's cryptography are at least a decade away, possibly longer. Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on Monday after a security incident, with researchers estimating that more than $46 million had moved out of the exchange's wallets. Klippsten warned cryptocurrency companies against protecting customer assets with hastily developed software.
Bitcoin News said Blockstream sent another 300 BTC to the Liquid Federation wallet, leaving a collateral gap of 250 BTC. Liquid holds 4,018.95 BTC to back 4,268.95 LBTC in circulation. Liquid's Bitcoin reserve ratio is 94.14%.
Polymarket and Kalshi favor Democratic control of Congress in 2026 midterms
Polymarket and Kalshi markets favor Democrats winning both congressional chambers in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with probabilities of 78% and 74%, respectively. Trading volume exceeds $58 million in the relevant Polymarket market and $100 million in the corresponding Kalshi contracts. Both platforms also favor Democratic candidates in individual Senate contests in Texas, Maine and Michigan. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said election-related betting volume already exceeds $1.4 billion this cycle. However, Kalshi previously failed to predict Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's victory in Brazil's presidential runoff.
North Korea denies involvement in $6.3 billion Binance hack
North Korea denied responsibility for the $6.3 billion Binance hack and rejected the FBI investigation as fabricated. Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday that Kim Yo-jong called the investigation a "political provocation." The FBI attributed the attack to the North Korean group TraderTraitor on October 31 and urged crypto firms to reject transactions involving linked wallets. Binance resumed crypto withdrawals after saying reserves had covered about 95% of customer losses. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States did not yet know whether North Korea was responsible.
Vitalik Buterin uses command-line wallet for private Ethereum payments
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he used kohaku-cli, a command-line wallet, for many payments involving privacy protocols. Buterin's October 31 essay also described a separate AI-written tool for updating IPFS content hashes on ENS. Kohaku-cli's documentation warns that the application is unaudited and that mainnet use can result in catastrophic fund loss. Keeping an application locally allows users to control software updates, but dependencies and signing permissions remain separate risks. A prepared Railgun unshield operation can already carry a signature even when the wallet has not broadcast the operation.
Opinion: Loyalty to crypto should not mean loyalty to its biggest intermediaries
Berkeley Law lecturer Hermine Wong argues that voters should not confuse support for crypto technology with loyalty to the companies financing crypto politics. Crypto super PACs have committed $63 million to Ohio's Senate race to keep Sherrod Brown out of the Senate. Wong argues that Fairshake's spending does not consistently reflect legislative records or Stand with Crypto's candidate grades. Fairshake's spokesperson says the organization supports candidates from both parties who favor crypto and American innovation. Wong concludes that the industry's political spending succeeds only if voters support the industry's chosen candidates.
XRP could suffer cascading liquidations if the price falls below $1.24, potentially deepening losses before a sustained recovery. Crypto analyst Cryptoinsightuk warned that rising leverage alongside stagnant prices could force long positions into liquidation. Chart analyst Ali Martinez said unusually narrow Bollinger Bands signal an imminent increase in volatility, but not the direction. Martinez considers $1.23 to $1.27 a range in which traders should avoid trading. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted that XRP will become the institutional standard for cryptocurrency payments within five years, despite short-term volatility.
Bitcoin News reports $15.4 billion net outflow from Binance over seven days
Bitcoin News reported that Binance recorded $15.4 billion in net outflows over the past seven days. Bitcoin News put net outflows over the past 24 hours at $3.4 billion. Binance retains approximately $124.4 billion in assets, according to Bitcoin News. The outflows came after a $6.3 billion hacking incident.
North Korea's state news agency KCNA called allegations linking North Korea to the theft of approximately $6.3 billion from Binance "fabricated." The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had previously blamed North Korea for the attack.
ZachXBT flags suspected crypto theft of more than $106 million
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT said an unidentified European Union entity may have lost more than $106 million from accounts across several cryptocurrency exchanges on Sunday. ZachXBT said suspected stolen funds were withdrawn as USDC and USDT and subsequently moved across cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Separately, blockchain monitoring account Onchain Lens said a wallet associated with the Solana arbitrage bot King may have lost about $786,000 on Monday. Onchain Lens said the transfers strongly suggested a possible wallet compromise, but King's operator has not confirmed a compromise.
EU entity suspected of losing over $106 million in crypto theft, ZachXBT says
Onchain investigator ZachXBT said an unidentified European Union entity is suspected of losing more than $106 million from several centralized exchange accounts on Sunday. ZachXBT said the attacker withdrew USDC and USDT, then moved funds through cryptocurrency swaps, instant exchanges and multiple blockchains. ZachXBT expressed strong confidence that the attacker was not North Korea's Lazarus Group. The suspected theft follows the $6.4 billion Binance hack, which the FBI attributed to North Korea's TraderTraitor hacking group. Whether any funds from the EU case have been frozen remains unclear.
Strategy buys 811 Bitcoin for $66 million as prices fall over the past week
Strategy bought $66 million in Bitcoin over the past week despite a decline in Bitcoin's price. Strategy said the purchase added 811 BTC at an average cost of $80,846 per BTC, bringing total holdings to 849,327 BTC. Chairman Michael Saylor also said on Monday that Strategy repurchased $208 million of STRC perpetual preferred stock. Bitcoin traded at $76,751 at the time of writing, nearly 4% lower over the past week.