Binance is about $2 billion short after the biggest crypto theft ever. The exchange says all losses will be covered from its pocket, but Elon Musk is trolling on X with laughing emojis.
Binance founder CZ and Yi He are reminding the SpaceX CEO about their investment in his company.
North Korea-linked hackers took about $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, on October 29. About $3 billion was frozen. Withdrawals have been paused ever since.
CZ’s $2 Billion Math
Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, founded Binance. On Friday, a user asked why he kept mentioning SpaceX. He answered with a sum.
“Rough math: $6.x b hack, $3b frozen, $1.x b SAFU fund. Gap is about $2b, we have $1.x billion in SPCX alone. Remaining gap is (still painful, but) manageable.”
SAFU is Binance’s emergency fund. It holds about $1.17 billion in Bitcoin.
![Bar chart of CZ's math: $6.3B stolen, $3B frozen, $1.17B SAFU, $1B+ SpaceX stake, Source: BeInCrypto]](https://assets.beincrypto.com/img/h7ngZtN8us3g-vxgJ6ikofVYsaQ=/smart/2637424bd80a476d99a93ead3218121e)
Can He Actually Sell SpaceX Shares?
The shares began as a $500 million bet on Musk’s 2022 Twitter takeover. xAI later absorbed X, and SpaceX bought xAI in February. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq in June at $135 a share.
Early investors still face lockup rules that release shares in stages. The last general batch unlocks December 8. Some major investors stay locked into 2027. Binance has not said which group it is in.
SPCX also fell almost 10% in the week to October 28, as about 1.6 billion newly unlocked shares became sellable.
“Bad Time to Troll”
Musk posted “Everyday is Zeroday” as the hack broke. Then he dropped fire and laughing emojis under CZ’s warning about clicking email links.
CZ hit back.
“Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop. 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!” CZ said.
Critics reached for a darker comparison. In 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried said FTX could cover all client funds. FTX collapsed days later.
CZ has not said Binance will sell, and Binance co-CEO Yi He also refuted the possibility, citing the exchange’s revenue for the year.
“Reporting to the major shareholder: Our company’s revenue for the year is sufficient to cover the losses, so we do not yet need to sell the SpaceX shares you are bullish on,” she wrote.
Withdrawals should restart within 48 hours, followed by a fresh public count of Binance’s reserves. Traders are not waiting. Liquidations topped $628 million in one hour as the news spread.
