Cryptocurrency-linked stocks fell sharply in Friday’s premarket trading following reports that hackers stole $6.36 billion from Binance, potentially marking the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
The reported breach occurred on Thursday evening, with most of the stolen assets transferred across ten blockchains in approximately 20 minutes beginning at 20:05 UTC. Initial information suggested that the attack originated from a compromised laptop belonging to a Binance engineer.
The reported losses were more than four times the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit in February 2025, an attack attributed by the FBI to North Korean hackers.
Crypto-Linked Stocks Fall Around 5%
Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, declined 5.1% in premarket trading, leaving its shares approximately 51% below their 52-week high.
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) dropped 5.2%, while Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) and Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) each fell 5.7%.
Cipher Digital (NASDAQ:CIFR) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) declined 5.3%, while Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ:GLXY), MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) and CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) each lost nearly 5%.
Bitcoin and Ether Retreat as Confidence Weakens
Bitcoin declined to a six-week low before recovering some ground, trading 3.1% below Thursday’s closing level.
Ether dropped more than 3.9% to a two-month low, while BNB, Binance’s native cryptocurrency, fell 6.1%.
The widespread declines reflected investor concerns about cryptocurrency security and the potential consequences of the reported theft for the broader digital asset market.
Binance Promises to Cover Losses
Binance co-founder Yi He said the exchange would cover “all hacking losses”, while co-Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng reassured customers that “your money is safe.”
The exchange reportedly worked with Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial to identify and freeze approximately $3 billion in stolen assets.
Around $3.3 billion remained publicly unaccounted for, while Binance said it expected withdrawals to resume within 48 hours of Friday.
Further Market Weakness Possible
The scale of the reported breach raised concerns about additional selling pressure across cryptocurrencies and related equities.
“I suspect the negative price action still has some way to go,” Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, told Reuters.
Investors are now monitoring the recovery of stolen assets, Binance’s withdrawal arrangements and the potential impact on confidence in cryptocurrency exchanges.