news - binance is facing a major security incident, with its initial investigation estimating the total impact at around $6.3 billion
according to binance, a compromised devops engineer's laptop may have allowed an attacker to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawals
the exchange said there is no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked and assured users that their funds are safe
around $3 billion in affected assets has reportedly been frozen through cooperation with blockchain partners and authorities
binance has also promised to cover all losses using its safu fund and company funds
however, the incident attracted attention beyond the crypto industry when elon musk reacted to the news on x
musk quote-posted a report about the binance incident with a short comment:
"everyday is zeroday"
his comment highlighted an important reality of cybersecurity: no company, regardless of its size or reputation, is completely protected from security vulnerabilities
musk also appeared to react with a grimacing emoji to a post comparing binance's promise to cover customer losses with similar assurances previously made by sam bankman-fried before ftx collapsed
this did not go down well with binance co-founder changpeng zhao, better known as cz
cz directly addressed musk, saying that he had a lot of respect for him but that it was a bad time to troll
he also asked musk to show some support and reminded him that binance had invested $500 million in musk's twitter takeover
cz further mentioned that those shares were now worth more than $1 billion
the discussion continued when cz shared his rough calculation of binance's financial position
he estimated that after accounting for the frozen assets and the safu fund, there could still be a gap of around $2 billion
he also mentioned binance's spacex-related shares, which he valued at more than $1 billion
my take
honestly, i think elon's point deserves attention
a major exchange reporting a multibillion-dollar security incident should expect tough questions and criticism
musk's "everyday is zeroday" comment was short, but it highlighted something important: cybersecurity cannot be taken for granted, even by the biggest companies in the industry
i also don't think elon owes binance public support just because the exchange invested in his businesses
an investment is a financial relationship, not an obligation to defend a company whenever it faces criticism
cz asking musk to stop trolling might be understandable from a personal perspective, but bringing up the twitter investment felt like an unnecessary response
instead of focusing on whether musk should show support, the bigger question should be why such a serious security incident happened in the first place
and comparing binance's reassurance with ftx's past statements is not proof that the two situations are the same, but it is reasonable for users to demand evidence rather than simply accepting promises
my final thoughts
i would rather see people question major crypto exchanges than blindly defend them
elon may have used humour to make his point, but the underlying message is worth considering
binance needs to explain what happened, strengthen its security systems and provide transparent updates to its users
cz can disagree with elon's comments, but criticism should not be treated as something a major exchange is entitled to avoid
at the end of the day, protecting user funds matters more than protecting a company's public image
what do you think?
was elon right to call attention to binance's security problems, or should he have shown more support during the incident?
and do you think cz's response was necessary?
