Why Bitcoin Is Down Today

Bitcoin (BTC -4.45%) is falling today, down about 5% in the last 24 hours as of 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 30, after hackers pulled off the largest crypto theft on record at the world's biggest exchange.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are down 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively.

CRYPTO · As of 1:46 PM ET 10/30/26

On Thursday, attackers drained $6.3 billion from Binance's hot wallets -- the internet-connected wallets exchanges use to keep funds available for everyday trading. The hackers stole crypto from 10 blockchains, including 17,985 bitcoin worth about $1.45 billion. While this is a developing story, blockchain analytics firms point to North Korea's TraderTraitor group -- a state-sponsored hacking unit the FBI blamed for the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in 2025.

Withdrawals on the platform are suspended until around Sunday, and Binance has set aside $6.34 billion and says it will cover every loss.

As soon as the news broke, traders across the market started selling, and Bitcoin quickly dropped to its lowest since Sept. 18, around $76,400. That helped trigger the sales of some leveraged positions, increasing pressure on the cryptocurrency.

The fact that Binance is covering the losses will go a long way to calm fears in the market and help distance it from the infamous meltdown of the FTX exchange. Still, it's another reminder that the world of crypto is still more Wild West than I think most traditional investors are comfortable with. It will be interesting to see just how those fund managers react in the coming weeks.