Helius CEO disputes Changpeng Zhao claim comparing banks to hacked exchanges
Mert rejected assertions that traditional banks are in a worse position than compromised trading platforms after the $6.3bn Binance breach.
Key takeaways
- 1Helius CEO Mert rejected Changpeng Zhao's claims comparing bank safety to hacked exchanges.
- 2Binance suffered a $6.3bn cyber breach attributed to North Korea.
- 3Authorities have frozen or seized $2.85bn of the stolen crypto assets.
Helius chief executive Mert criticized Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on 3 November 2026, calling Zhao's claim that traditional banking institutions are in a worse position than hacked crypto exchanges completely incorrect.
Degen News reported that Mert said banks are in an infinitely better position than compromised digital asset exchanges. The comments came after Zhao publicly compared the stability of traditional banks to crypto platforms that have experienced massive security breaches.
Binance manages $171bn in assets under management and suffered a $6.3bn hack that was attributed to North Korea. Zhao called the multi-billion dollar breach a major disaster for the crypto industry, while the FBI and the Secret Service launched investigations into the stolen funds. Law enforcement agencies have frozen or seized $2.85bn of the roughly $6.3bn lost in the attack, and stablecoin issuer Tether froze $971m in USDT linked to the breach on 29 October.
The dispute comes as regulators in the United States consider fresh rules for foreign digital asset trading venues. CFTC Chair Michael Selig proposed an optional US registration pathway for foreign crypto exchanges after the incident. Selig said the Binance attack targeted central platform security rather than underlying blockchain smart contracts.
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