Binance $6.3B Hack Prompts Crypto Exchanges to Boost Defenses, Seek Shared Alert System

Crypto exchanges moved quickly to reinforce security and called for industry-wide information sharing after a record $6.3 billion hack at Binance exposed vulnerabilities as digital assets become more embedded in mainstream finance. Coinbase said it adjusted its offline key-storage systems "solely out of an abundance of caution," while Kraken said it was monitoring incidents for lessons to apply to its defenses. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, halted withdrawals after Thursday's attack — which analysts blamed on North Korea — and said it would use company funds to cover losses. Co-CEO Richard Teng said on X the "complex attack" may have begun with a compromised software engineer's laptop. Tether said it froze nearly $1.57 billion linked to Binance, and Circle froze $800 million. Bitcoin fell more than 4% Thursday and ether more than 5%, though both recovered some ground Friday. OKX CEO Star Xu called for a real-time alert system to share information and freeze suspected stolen funds.