國際時事跟讀 Ep. L301: Binance Loses $6.3 Billion in Record Crypto Heist
Highlights 主題摘要
- Hackers stole about $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, in a record-breaking theft.
- Analysts blamed North Korean hackers, who ordered Binance's wallets to empty into wallets under their control.
- Binance halted withdrawals and promised to cover losses, but the heist shook confidence in centralised exchanges.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been hit by what analysts describe as the biggest crypto heist on record. Hackers made off with about $6.3 billion, most of it within roughly 20 minutes late on Thursday, according to blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis. The sum dwarfs the previous record of $1.5 billion, stolen from the exchange Bybit in February 2025. Binance halted withdrawals, insisting customer funds were safe, and warned the figure may continue to increase.
全球最大加密貨幣交易所幣安（Binance）遭駭，分析人士稱這是史上最大宗加密貨幣竊案。區塊鏈分析公司 TRM Labs 與 Chainalysis 指出，駭客週四深夜下手，捲走約63億美元，大部分在20分鐘左右完成。先前的最高紀錄是2025年2月 Bybit 交易所失竊的15億美元，這次金額遠遠超過。幣安已暫停提款，強調客戶資金安全，但也提醒損失數字可能還會增加。
Both firms said they were highly confident that North Korea was responsible, pinning the attack on TraderTraitor, a unit linked to the Lazarus Group. According to TRM, the attackers were able to order Binance's wallets to empty into wallets they controlled, mirroring the Bybit hack, which the FBI attributed to North Korea. Experts say crypto theft has become a much-needed source of foreign currency for Pyongyang, helping to prop up its economy and fund a nuclear programme that is under UN sanctions. North Korea routinely denies involvement in hacking.
兩家公司都表示，有高度信心是北韓所為，並把矛頭指向與拉撒路集團（Lazarus Group）有關的駭客部隊 TraderTraitor。TRM 說，攻擊者能直接下令幣安錢包，把資產轉進駭客控制的錢包，手法和 Bybit 案如出一轍；美國聯邦調查局（FBI）已認定 Bybit 案是北韓所為。專家指出，竊取加密貨幣已成為平壤急需的外匯來源，用來支撐經濟，並資助受聯合國制裁的核武計畫。北韓一向否認涉入駭客攻擊。
Binance initially traced the breach to a hacked laptop belonging to one of its engineers, though it later said further investigation had uncovered additional points of breach. The company said it had found no evidence that any wallet's private key had been leaked. Mark Karpeles, the former head of the collapsed exchange Mt Gox, was less convinced, telling Reuters the attackers had probably accessed keys for at least two wallets. Stablecoin issuers moved quickly: Tether froze nearly $1.57 billion and Circle more than $800 million, part of roughly $3 billion frozen so far.
幣安起初研判，入侵源頭是一名工程師遭駭的筆電，後來又說進一步調查發現其他入侵點。幣安表示，沒有證據顯示任何錢包私鑰外洩。已倒閉交易所 Mt Gox 的前負責人 Mark Karpeles 不太認同，他告訴路透，攻擊者很可能已取得至少兩個錢包的私鑰。穩定幣發行商迅速出手，Tether 凍結近15.7億美元，Circle 凍結逾8億美元，目前已凍結的資產合計約30億美元。
The theft rattled markets. Bitcoin slid to a six-week low of $76,368, and shares in Coinbase, which said it was unaffected, fell 4.8 percent. Co-CEO Richard Teng pledged that Binance would cover every loss, yet the stolen sum is more than six times its $1 billion emergency fund. One analyst warned the episode could prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralised exchanges. As Sean Foley of Macquarie University put it, the larger an exchange's holdings, the larger a target it becomes.
這起竊案衝擊市場。比特幣跌至6週低點7萬6368美元；Coinbase 表示未受波及，股價仍下跌4.8%。幣安共同執行長鄧偉政（Richard Teng）承諾承擔所有損失，但遭竊金額是幣安10億美元緊急基金的6倍多。有分析師警告，投資人可能因此重新評估資產放在集中式交易所的安全性。澳洲麥覺理大學（Macquarie University）學者 Sean Foley 指出，交易所持有的資產越多，就越容易成為攻擊目標。
Keyword Drills 關鍵字
- Made off with [idiom, to steal something and escape with it]: The thieves made off with the company's client list.
- Dwarf [verb, to make something seem very small by comparison]: Our new budget dwarfs last year's spending.
- Pin on [verb phrase, to blame someone for something]: Don't pin the delay on the design team.
- Prop up [verb phrase, to support something that might otherwise fail]: Short-term loans can't prop up a failing business forever.
- Reassess [verb, to think again about something and judge it differently]: We need to reassess our priorities after this quarter.
Reference article:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/binance-says-6-3bn-stolen-in-biggest-crypto-heist-in-history-what-we-know
https://theprint.in/world/hackers-steal-6-3-billion-from-binance-in-record-heist-blamed-on-north-korea/3086114/