"Bad Time To Troll": Binance Co-Founder Calls Out Musk Over Crypto Heist Jabs

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has called out Elon Musk for making sarcastic remarks about the cryptocurrency exchange following a $6.3 billion hack. Musk reacted to the incident with laughing and grimacing emojis on X, prompting Zhao to ask the billionaire to stop making jokes and show some support.

The two exchanged remarks on Friday, October 30, following a major cyberattack on Binance that has been described as the biggest cryptocurrency theft on record. So far, around $3 billion worth of stolen crypto assets have reportedly been frozen.

Binance has also pledged to compensate users for all confirmed losses resulting from the attack.

Investigators suspect the attack may have been carried out by TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group.

The exchange followed a security advisory Zhao posted on Wednesday, a day before the Binance attack came to light. In the post, he urged users to avoid clicking on links or downloading email attachments, even when the messages appeared to come from trusted contacts.

Musk responded to the warning with fire and laughing emojis. Following reports of the hack, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted, “Everyday is Zeroday” on X. He later posted a grimacing emoji while responding to a discussion about whether Binance could afford to cover the losses.

Responding to the resurfaced security warning, Zhao said he wished more people had followed his advice. However, he clarified that the attack was more complex than simply clicking on a suspicious link.

“The hack is more complex than that, but all hacks generally have a compromised device (or algorithm) at some point,” Zhao said.

Zhao directly addressed Musk on Friday, asking him to stop making light of the incident. “Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop,” he wrote. He also referred to Binance's earlier investment in Musk's takeover of Twitter, noting that the exchange's SpaceX shares were now worth more than $1 billion.

“Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion. Would appreciate if you show a little support. Thanks!” Zhao wrote.

Binance contributed $500 million towards Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022. Following subsequent corporate changes, the investment became associated with shares in SpaceX.

This is not the first time the two have clashed on social media. In November 2021, Binance temporarily halted Dogecoin withdrawals following a wallet glitch, prompting Musk to call the move “shady”. Zhao responded by pointing to a major Tesla recall involving nearly 12,000 vehicles in the US over software glitches and hardware issues.