Binance's Teng Says Industry Must Learn From Hack: Do New Crypto Features Raise Risk?

What happened

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the industry should learn from a $6.3 billion hack, which he attributed to North Korea based on an FBI attribution. He said attackers used fake recruiting, AI tools and a new Ethereum feature before reaching the system that authorized wallet transactions.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

The account points to a route from compromised workplace systems to wallet-approval controls, where transactions are authorized. If custodians cannot quickly disable signed permissions, customer funds could remain exposed even after withdrawals are paused, potentially increasing security costs and pressure to strengthen controls.

Analyst inference

The article distinguishes a vulnerability in the upgrade from risks in how exchanges use it: an Ethereum researcher said the feature itself was not broken. It also says exchange-held ETH could be exposed through custodians’ signing systems, rather than the upgrade alone.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Whether Binance or other custodians change how they review and revoke wallet permissions, which authorize transactions, could indicate whether the incident leads to higher security spending. Analyst inference
2. Further findings on whether EIP-7702, an upgrade letting ordinary wallets borrow smart-contract code, was exploited directly or enabled the attack through custody systems. Confirmed
3. Whether exchanges disclose changes to withdrawal pauses and permission-clearing procedures, since faster action could limit the time customer funds remain exposed. Analyst inference

Affected assets

• ETH — Ethereum
• USDT — Tether

Evidence

• beincrypto.com