Good morning!

This is close to a special edition again — three different takes on the Binance hack, a week on. Binance has reopened withdrawals in phases and covered about 95% of the funds lost in the $6.3 billion theft. Kaupr spoke to Virtune's Andreas Severin, who argues the hack strengthens the case for MiCA-regulated exchanges; Trendline from Venkat Hrushikesa Varri found bitcoin testing support near $76,200 after breaking its range; and Kaupr Weekly from Morten Myrstad argues the weak point wasn't the blockchain, but permission — who holds it, who grants it, and how far it reaches.

Saturday's conversation with Bitcoinpolitisk Institutt Norge is also now available to watch — where BPI urged Norway's oil fund to be more open about its indirect bitcoin holdings, and Folketrygdfondet to invest directly in bitcoin and other digital assets.

— Morten

The hack. Attackers drained $6.3 billion from Binance's hot wallets on Ethereum, Arbitrum and Avalanche on Thursday evening, among the largest exchange thefts on record.

The response. Tether and Circle froze about $3 billion in stablecoins between them. Binance pledged to cover all customer losses from its own funds and promised a proof-of-reserves report.

Withdrawals. Binance has reopened withdrawals in phases, with bitcoin among the first networks activated. The exchange has covered about 95% of the affected amount so far — the remaining 5% sits in less liquid tokens that take longer to source.

The outflows. Binance processed $4.65 billion in withdrawals against $1.01 billion in deposits on 1 November, for net outflows of $3.64 billion — about 2.1% of its total assets. Co-founder Changpeng Zhao said 98% of users chose to stay, with most of the outflow happening in the first couple of hours after withdrawals reopened. Circle said it has frozen more than $1.1 billion in USDC tied to the hack, up from over $800 million on Friday.

Source: Binance sees $3.64 billion in net outflows as withdrawals resume after massive hack — CNBC

We covered the hack from Friday morning through Sunday.

👉 This is the latest on the Binance hack →, with links to all our reports.

Andreas Severin, CSO at Virtune, told Kaupr TV that exchanges remain crypto's weak point and that no MiCA-regulated exchange has been hacked — Binance itself was denied a MiCA licence last year. He said Binance had covered up to 90% of the loss from its own balance sheet by the time of the interview, and expects the hack to drive more flows into regulated products such as ETPs.

Why it matters: The market was down only around 3.6–3.7% in the days after the hack, which Severin reads as a sign the industry has matured since previous shocks.

Source: Binance hack strengthens the case for MiCA, says Virtune — Kaupr TV

Bitcoin broke below its $79,700 range support after the Binance hack and tested $76,200 before recovering toward $78,000, Kaupr's Trendline found. Ethereum lost the rising trendline that had supported its recovery since May, falling below $2,388.

Why it matters: A level that previously held as support can turn into resistance once broken — so $79,700 is now the first hurdle for any bitcoin recovery, and $2,334 the one to watch for ether.

Source: Bitcoin Lost the Range. Now It Needs to Find Support. — Venkat Hrushikesa Varri, Trendline/Kaupr

This week's Kaupr Weekly argues the blockchain was never the weak point in the Binance hack — neither was quantum computing, nor the AI agents themselves. The weak point was permission: who holds it, who grants it, and how far it reaches. No private key ever left Binance; it was the system that approves signatures that was hijacked. Trondheim-based Borg Security makes the same point architecturally: the industry tests its smart contracts hard, and pays far less attention to the API and backend layer above them.

Why it matters: In the same week as the hack, DTCC took its tokenisation service from pilot into full commercial operation — a reminder that traditional finance isn't standing outside pointing at the wreckage.

👉 Listen to Episode 14 → · Spotify · Apple Podcasts

Bitcoinpolitisk Institutt Norge told Kaupr's Saturday webinar that Norway's oil fund should report more openly on its indirect bitcoin exposure, while Folketrygdfondet should set aside capital to invest directly in bitcoin and other digital assets — following similar moves by some Luxembourg state funds and the Czech central bank. BPI meets the Finance Ministry on Monday.

Why it matters: Membership has grown 130% since June to 265, and board member Silvija Seres argues blockchain could serve as a backup payment system if Norwegian banks fail, given the krone's volatility and reliance on US payment networks like Visa and Mastercard.

Source: BPI urges oil fund and Folketrygdfondet to look at bitcoin — Kaupr

👉 Watch on YouTube →

Kaupr Today comes in two editions

More from Kaupr

Wishing you a great Monday — and welcome back tomorrow morning for the next edition of Kaupr Daily.

Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor