Binance $6.3B Hack Sparks Scrutiny of Hot Wallet Security Controls

Binance ’s recent $6.3 billion security incident has shifted attention from headline loss figures to a more technical question: what exactly did the exchange’s wallet architecture allow attackers to do, and how much of the damage depended on the internal controls around its hot wallets. In comments dated Oct. 30, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the attack targeted the exchange’s own hot wallet. He described a custody structure in which most customer assets are kept offline in cold storage and only moved into hot wallets to process withdrawals when users request them.