By CZ fires back at Elon Musk over Binance hack jokes, cites $1B SpaceX stake
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has publicly asked Elon Musk to stop mocking the cryptocurrency exchange following its reported $6.3 billion security breach, turning a series of jokes on X into a dispute over Binance’s response to the attack.
Summary
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has publicly asked Elon Musk to stop joking about the exchange’s security breach.
- Musk reacted to Zhao’s earlier cybersecurity warning with laughing emojis and commented, “Everyday is Zeroday.”
- Zhao cited a SpaceX investment he values at more than $1 billion while explaining Binance’s ability to cover losses.
- Binance co-CEO Yi He said the company’s annual revenue could cover the shortfall without selling those shares.
- Binance estimates the October 29 security incident affected $6.3 billion in assets, with around $3 billion frozen.
In a post on X, the Binance founder told Musk he respected him but considered the timing of his comments inappropriate.
“Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop,” Zhao wrote.
He then reminded Musk of Binance’s investment in his businesses, asking him to show support while the exchange dealt with the losses.
CZ asks Elon Musk to stop trolling Binance
The dispute began after Musk reacted to a cybersecurity warning Zhao published on October 28, one day before Binance disclosed the breach.
In the original warning, Zhao urged followers not to open suspicious email links or download attachments, even when messages appeared to come from trusted contacts.
Musk responded with fire and laughing emojis. Following reports of the attack, he commented “Everyday is Zeroday” on a post discussing the stolen cryptocurrency.
The remark referred to zero-day vulnerabilities, security weaknesses that attackers exploit before developers can fix them.
When the earlier warning resurfaced, Zhao replied that he wished more people had followed the advice. He noted that the attack was more complex but said compromised devices or algorithms often play a role in security incidents.
Moreover, Musk later posted a grimacing emoji in another exchange involving the Binance founder. Zhao’s subsequent request for support prompted questions from users about why he had mentioned SpaceX investments.
Binance’s SpaceX holdings enter the dispute
In his response to Musk, Zhao claimed Binance’s SpaceX holdings, acquired through its $500 million contribution to Musk’s Twitter takeover, were now worth more than $1 billion.
“Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion,” he wrote.
One user questioned how those holdings related to the exchange’s security problems. Zhao subsequently explained that he was referring to assets available when considering the financial damage.
His rough calculation placed the hack at more than $6 billion, with $3 billion frozen and over $1 billion available through Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users.
Zhao estimated the remaining gap at around $2 billion. He pointed to the SpaceX holdings as evidence of financial resources, describing the outstanding amount as manageable, although painful.
The calculation was not a final accounting of recoverable funds, and Zhao did not announce plans to sell the shares.
Yi He says Binance revenue can cover losses
Binance co-CEO Yi He responded directly to Zhao’s comments, saying the exchange had enough revenue to absorb the losses without selling its SpaceX investment.
“Reporting to the major shareholder: Our company’s revenue for the year is sufficient to cover the losses, so we do not yet need to sell the SpaceX shares you are bullish on,” she wrote.
Zhao replied that he had not suggested selling the holdings. He said he mentioned their value to show Musk that Binance had resources and that the investment might reassure him.
The exchange has separately pledged to cover customer losses using its SAFU reserve and company funds.
As reported earlier today, investigators identified an Ethereum wallet authorization that allowed the attacker to redirect funds from a major Binance hot wallet.
Binance said its initial investigation pointed to a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, although investigators were examining additional entry points. It reported no evidence that wallet private keys had leaked.
Musk’s Binance hack comments draw mixed reactions
The exchange’s problems prompted reactions from cryptocurrency executives, traders and technology figures as investigators tracked the stolen assets.
X executive Nikita Bier commented on the contrast between the scale of the alleged theft and Zhao’s public reassurances, referring to the founder’s familiar “Funds are SAFU!” message.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, however, offered assistance to Binance, saying the industry needed to cooperate during the security incident.
Musk had separately speculated about AI agents carrying out similar cryptocurrency transactions independently in the future. His comments did not allege that artificial intelligence was responsible for this attack.
Blockchain investigators have attributed the breach to North Korea-linked hackers, as detailed in reporting on Lazarus Group. Binance has not publicly confirmed the identity of those responsible.
The exchange expects withdrawals to resume within 48 hours of its October 30 service update, while deposits remain operational. Binance said a full technical report would follow its investigation.
