The cryptocurrency market faced significant turbulence this week following a massive hack on Binance, one of the world's largest exchanges. On Oct 29, attackers linked to North Korea stole approximately US$6.4 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from Binance’s hot wallets within just 30 minutes. The breach triggered a sharp decline in major cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin dropping about 5% and Ether losing around 5.7% over 24 hours. By Nov 1, Bitcoin had recovered slightly to US$77,450, while Ether was trading at US$2,249.
Binance co-chief executive Richard Teng addressed the incident in a social media video, assuring users that customer assets were safe and would not be used to cover the losses. He stated that the exchange had reserved over US$6.4 billion of its own funds to compensate for the stolen assets. Withdrawals from Binance, which were temporarily suspended, are expected to resume by Nov 1 as the platform undergoes a security overhaul.
In Singapore, Binance operates outside the regulatory safeguards of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which has placed the platform on its Investor Alert List since September 2021. The MAS warned that Binance is not regulated or licensed to provide payment services in Singapore, leaving investors without protections under local regulations.
Meanwhile, Wilmar International disclosed that it sold fertilisers and diesel to six of the 10 companies named by the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a haze-related probe, generating around US$22.5 million in revenue for the financial year 2025. The company clarified that it had no operational or supply-chain ties with six of the buyers and no business relationship with the remaining four. Wilmar’s shares fell 11% over the week, impacted by rising raw material costs and the haze-related investigation.
In the tech sector, US-listed stocks such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia experienced significant declines due to concerns over AI-related spending and disappointing earnings. Alphabet suffered its worst one-day percentage decline on record, falling as much as 12.6% and wiping out almost US$500 million in market value. Intel’s shares plunged almost 29% after weaker-than-expected guidance and an explosion at an Israeli factory disrupted shipments. The ripple effects were felt across the semiconductor industry, with companies like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), AEM Holdings, and Mi Material also seeing declines.