NAJWIĘKSZY NAPAD W HISTORII. HAKERZY UKRADLI KRYPTOWALUTY WARTE 25 MILIARDÓW ZŁOTYCH

Summary

The video examines a reported $6 billion cryptocurrency theft from Binance, described as the largest in crypto history and more than four times the previous record. The money reportedly began leaving the exchange shortly after 9 p.m., with most of it transferred within about 20 minutes.

How the attack reportedly happened

Cryptocurrencies are recorded on distributed ledgers, where confirmed transactions generally cannot be reversed by a central authority. Many customers, however, keep their crypto on exchanges, which hold the keys needed to move it.

Exchanges commonly separate internet-connected hot wallets, used for routine transactions, from offline cold wallets. According to the initial account discussed in the video, the attackers targeted hot wallets, apparently gaining access through an engineer’s compromised laptop and the system used to authorize withdrawals. Binance said it had found no evidence that the underlying keys themselves had been stolen; the precise method was still under investigation.

Analytics firms TRM and Chainalysis reportedly linked the attack to North Korean hackers, but Binance had not confirmed who was responsible.

Frozen funds and customer losses

Binance said roughly $3 billion had been frozen within hours. Some of the stolen assets were stablecoins whose issuers can block tokens from being transferred further. Bitcoin and Ether have no equivalent issuer that can freeze them. The video stresses that freezing funds is not the same as recovering them, and cites an estimate that more than $2 billion in crypto remained with the thief.

The incident raised questions about the safety of exchange custody and the possibility of customer losses. Binance promised to cover losses and said it would draw on an emergency reserve, but the presenter cautions that a promise is not proof of payment. The video compares the theft with Binance’s estimated revenue, while noting that publicly available financial information was insufficient to establish definitively how much cash the company could use.

Cryptocurrency holdings on exchanges are not protected by a bank deposit guarantee scheme.

Regulation and market reaction

The presenter discusses the EU’s MiCA licensing rules and says Binance was not listed in the relevant public register at the time of recording, after withdrawing an application in Greece. Binance had announced restrictions for Polish customers, while withdrawals and deposits were suspended following the attack.

A licence would not prevent a hack or guarantee reimbursement. However, licensed exchanges would have specific obligations, including separating customer assets from their own and being legally liable for losses in certain circumstances. The video does not claim that Binance’s lack of a licence caused the breach.

The incident also coincided with a drop of more than 5% in Bitcoin’s price overnight. The presenter says the attack could weaken confidence in crypto markets, while making clear that this is an assessment rather than a forecast.

Ways of holding cryptocurrency

The video compares three ways of holding crypto:

• On an exchange: Requires trust in the company.
• In a phone wallet: Requires protecting the device and recovery phrase.
• In a hardware wallet: Can still involve risks, including tampered devices and scams.

The broader conclusion is that the attack did not break Bitcoin’s mathematics; it reportedly exploited access to a company’s systems. Even in systems designed to reduce reliance on intermediaries, people and their devices may remain the weakest point.

Presenter/contributor: Andrzej Borcz.