On October 29, 2026, hackers stole US$6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. While most investors saw this as a stark reminder of digital asset risks, a few trading firms and skilled investors spotted a rare opportunity to profit from the chaos. The hackers, believed to be North Korean, rushed to convert stolen funds, accepting poor prices in their haste. Bitquery estimates they lost about US$119 million due to their hurried execution.
The attackers focused on converting stablecoins like USDT into other cryptocurrencies, such as Ether, to avoid freezing by issuers. This aggressive selling created sharp price volatility and distorted crypto prices across different platforms. James Aitchison, chief investment officer at Caerus Global Management, noted that the event caused 'several attractive dislocations' that his firm traded on.
Traders like Luca Parlamento of D2 Finance and Annanay Kapila of QFEX capitalized on the price gaps. Parlamento said the attackers paid an average of US$2,657 for Ether on decentralized exchanges, far above the US$2,300 price on Hyperliquid. Kapila made a 25% profit within minutes by borrowing and selling Ether where prices were inflated. The dislocations spread to other tokens, including Tron and RLUSD, creating brief but lucrative trading opportunities.
The chaos also triggered bidding wars among trading bots, driving up transaction fees. About half of the hackers’ losses were captured by traders and arbitrage bots, while Ethereum transaction operators earned an additional US$29.5 million. Some firms, like Waves Digital Assets, chose not to trade due to narrow windows and surging costs. Binance began restoring withdrawals on November 1, 2026, after freezing assets and replacing stolen funds.