CZ Clashes With Musk Over $1B SpaceX Stake After Binance Hack

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, told Elon Musk to stop trolling the exchange after Musk appeared to mock it over a record hack, according to Decrypt. CZ's reply was pointed: Binance's roughly $500 million bet on Musk's 2022 Twitter takeover is now worth more than $1 billion in SpaceX shares.

The exchange played out on X on October 30, days after Binance confirmed a breach that multiple outlets, including Decrypt, call the largest crypto hack on record. Different reports cite the loss at either $6.3 billion or $6.4 billion. Binance itself has reserved more than $6.34 billion in company funds specifically to cover the incident, a figure that roughly matches the scale of the damage.

What sparked the exchange

Musk posted something read as a dig at Binance following news of the hack, according to Decrypt's reporting. CZ responded by reminding him of a four-year-old transaction: Binance's roughly $500 million investment in Musk's Twitter buyout, a stake CZ says has since converted into SpaceX equity worth over $1 billion.

It turned a hack story into a public back-and-forth between two of crypto's most visible figures, playing out on the very platform Binance helped finance in 2022.

Binance says revenue alone covers the losses

Binance co-CEO Yi He said the company's annual revenue is sufficient on its own to cover losses from the hack, without touching the SpaceX holdings, according to Decrypt. CZ later clarified that he had never proposed selling the stake, a clarification that suggests his earlier comments were being read as a hint that Binance might need to cash out.

That distinction matters for anyone tracking Binance's finances. The exchange has set aside more than $6.34 billion to cover the hack, a sum close to or above the size of the breach itself. Paired with Yi He's comment on revenue, it signals Binance wants the market to treat this as a manageable financial hit rather than a question of solvency.

Who investigators blame

Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis have both attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a hacking group linked to North Korea, Decrypt reported. Neither Binance nor the cited firms have published a detailed technical breakdown of the breach in the coverage available so far, so questions about exactly how the funds were accessed remain open.

The attribution alone is a significant data point. It places this incident alongside other large-scale crypto thefts that security researchers have tied to North Korean state-linked operators in recent years, though this specific case's method and timeline haven't been laid out publicly yet.

Why the SpaceX stake matters here

Binance's $500 million bet on Musk's Twitter takeover looked unusual at the time: a crypto exchange putting real money into a traditional media acquisition rather than anything crypto-native. Four years on, CZ says that position, now converted into SpaceX shares, is worth more than double what Binance originally committed.

For a company absorbing a multibillion-dollar hack, holding a billion-dollar equity stake outside its core crypto treasury is a relevant detail, even if Yi He insists Binance won't need to touch it. It also illustrates something traders sometimes overlook: large exchanges increasingly carry diversified, non-crypto assets on their books, and those can function as a cushion precisely when something goes wrong on the crypto side.

What it means for traders

• Binance's reserve disclosures. The $6.34 billion fund earmarked for the hack is the number to watch. Any follow-up proof-of-reserves data or audit commentary will help traders judge whether Yi He's claim about covering losses from revenue alone holds up over time.
• BNB price action. BNB was trading near $699.99 as the spat unfolded, a modest daily move. Fresh headlines tying the exchange's security posture to the hack could still add volatility to the token in coming sessions.
• Attribution follow-through. With TRM Labs and Chainalysis pointing to the North Korea-linked TraderTraitor group, traders keeping funds on centralized exchanges may want to watch for any new security measures, withdrawal policy changes, or law enforcement updates tied to this case.
• Counterparty risk context. Binance's SpaceX position isn't an asset retail traders can access, but its rising valuation is a useful reminder when assessing exchange counterparty risk: some platforms hold outside equity stakes that can absorb losses beyond what's visible in a typical balance sheet summary.

How big was the Binance hack that triggered this exchange?

Reports describe it as between $6.3 billion and $6.4 billion, with Decrypt and other outlets calling it the largest crypto hack on record.

Why does Binance own SpaceX shares?

Binance invested roughly $500 million in Elon Musk's 2022 Twitter takeover, and CZ now values the resulting stake at more than $1 billion in SpaceX equity.

Will Binance sell its SpaceX shares to cover the hack?

Binance co-CEO Yi He said the company's annual revenue alone covers the losses, and CZ said he never suggested selling the SpaceX stake.