Binance hack wipes $100 billion from cryptocurrency market

The largest breach in the history of cryptocurrency trading platforms triggered a wave of widespread selling, wiping out approximately $100 billion from the sector’s market capitalization within hours, while recalling previous episodes that preceded market recoveries after similar crises.

The hack targeting Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, caused the total market capitalization of digital assets to plummet this week, after the platform revealed that assets worth around $6.3 billion were affected by the attack, which began on Thursday.

The company stated it would cover all user losses, while investigators linked the hack to North Korea. The breach is more than four times larger than the previous record set in February 2025, when assets worth $1.5 billion were stolen from Bybit.

The timing of the hack brought to mind previous cryptocurrency market downturns. After the market reached its historical peak of approximately $4.3 trillion on October 7, 2025, its value has declined by about 39% so far.

The three previous downturn cycles showed that the market bottomed out after a period ranging from 11 to 13 months from the peak, occurring in January 2015, December 2018, and November 2022. The Binance hack came approximately 13 months after the last peak.

The FTX crisis appeared to be the closest comparison. The platform halted withdrawals on November 8, 2022, about a year after the market peak at that time, before the cryptocurrency market capitalization hit its lowest point just two weeks later.

Owen Lau, Managing Director and Analyst at Clear Street, said that collapses of major platforms, from Mt. Gox to Bybit, have always raised questions about the sector’s future, but Bitcoin has managed to withstand those crises, with expectations of continued short-term volatility.

The current cycle differs from previous ones in two main respects. It was less severe, with market losses peaking at only 52% in early July, compared to a 73% decline in the 2022 cycle and an 88% drop in the 2018 cycle. Additionally, Bitcoin may have already recorded its price bottom, having risen by approximately 50% between the close of June 30 and September 21, before declining again by about 10%.

Nevertheless, historical precedents show that the early days following major crises remain the most difficult. Following the Bybit and FTX shocks, Bitcoin fell between 14% and 19% in the following week, before resuming its upward trend after three months.

Investors are now awaiting the fate of the stolen coins. Fundstrat estimates suggest that around $3.3 billion of the stolen assets remain movable, mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum.