Zhao says AI will intensify cyberattacks on exchanges and banks after Binance hack

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng says hackers are moving faster on AI than financial institutions, and that the gap will widen before it narrows. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the point is blunt: if exchanges can be breached at this scale, banking rails are not getting a pass.

1. In an interview with CoinDesk on the 3rd, Zhao said, “To stop AI-driven hacking, the industry must also use AI.” His view is that attackers are already adopting AI faster than financial institutions are deploying it for security, which means the near-term direction of travel is more incidents, not fewer.
2. Zhao added that “if a cryptocurrency exchange can be hacked, I think banks are in an even more dangerous situation.” He said hacking incidents will rise in the short term, while AI-based defense systems will gradually get stronger over time.
3. The comments came after Binance Holdings Ltd. was breached on the 29th and hackers stole $6.3 billion (about 8.4 trillion won) worth of cryptocurrency and stablecoins. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau’s elite hacking group “TraderTraitor” as being behind the hack.
4. Zhao also said customer withdrawals after services resumed were smaller than expected. According to him, withdrawals totaled $3.6 billion (about 4.8 trillion won), or about 2% of Binance Holdings Ltd.’s total assets. He had expected a much larger outflow of 10% to 30% of total assets.
5. There is one small detail worth keeping in view: major blockchain analytics firms said North Korean hackers used automated algorithms rather than AI agents in this attack. That does not change the operational takeaway for payment and banking risk teams, which is that machine-speed attacks are already in the wild, whether or not anyone wants to call them “AI.”

Zhao founded Binance Holdings Ltd. in 2017. In 2023, after being indicted on charges including violating anti-money-laundering rules and securities laws, he pleaded guilty and stepped down as chief executive officer; Binance Holdings Ltd. paid a $4.3 billion fine. Zhao received a pardon from President Trump in Oct. last year.