Crypto Weekly Recap: Binance Hack, Wall Street Crash and Gold Under Pressure

Week 44 of 2026 brought the crypto market the largest theft in its history and Wall Street its worst day since June. On Thursday evening, attackers drained about $6.3 billion from Binance; on Friday, Intel and Reddit lost about 29 percent each and the Nasdaq 2.86 percent. Bitcoin ended the week about 4 percent lower at $77,290, Ether lost 5.2 percent, while Hyperliquid, Zcash and Monero were among the few winners, according to CoinMarketCap on Saturday, 31 October, 00:47 UTC. Here is the week in numbers, the five events that mattered and what comes next week.

Crypto weekly recap: the key facts

• Bitcoin: $77,290, −4.0 % over seven days; Ether $2,246, −5.2 %.
• Binance hack: about $6.3 billion stolen on 29 October, attributed to North Korea's TraderTraitor by TRM Labs; about $3 billion frozen.
• Wall Street: Nasdaq −2.86 % on Friday, Intel −28.6 %, Reddit −29.2 %, Alphabet −12.6 % on Thursday.
• Fed: rates held at 3.75 to 4.00 percent, two votes for a hike; December hike priced at around 80 percent.
• Gold: −3.6 % on Friday, 27 percent below its January record.
• Winners of the week: Hyperliquid +17.7 %, Zcash +9.5 %, Monero +5.7 %.

The crypto week in numbers

Prices and seven-day changes of the largest coins, as of 31 October 2026, 00:47 UTC, according to CoinMarketCap:

Remarkable: BNB, the token of the hacked exchange, lost less over the week than Bitcoin, Ether or Solana. The market has so far taken Binance's promise to cover all losses at face value.

The five events of the week

1. Wednesday: the Fed holds, but turns more hawkish. The US central bank left its key rate at 3.75 to 4.00 percent, but Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack voted for a hike, as CNN reported. Futures now price a December hike at around 80 percent.

2. Thursday: Alphabet's record drop. The Google parent fell 12.6 percent, its worst day since the 2004 IPO, after record spending on AI and negative free cash flow. It was the start of the sell-off in tech.

3. Thursday evening: the Binance hack. From 20:05 UTC, attackers drained about $6.3 billion; TRM Labs attributes the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Binance suspended deposits and withdrawals and promised to cover all losses. Everything known is in our overview North Korea behind the Binance hack; the theories circulating about it are checked in our conspiracy fact check.

4. Friday: Wall Street trades like a meme token. Intel fell 28.6 percent, Reddit 29.2 percent, the Nasdaq 2.86 percent. The triggers were weak outlooks and doubts about the AI boom, not the hack, as our analysis Binance hack, then a stock market crash: coincidence or connection? shows. The details of the sell-off are in why US stocks now swing like meme tokens.

5. Friday: gold fails as a safe haven. Gold fell 3.6 percent to $3,884.90 per ounce and is now 27 percent below its January record. Why gold rarely protects in the first weeks of a crash is shown in our comparison of six crises: why gold is going down.

Winners and losers of the week

Hyperliquid was the strongest large coin with a gain of 17.7 percent, followed by the privacy coins Zcash (+9.5 %) and Monero (+5.7 %). On the losing side were Cardano (−6.4 %), Solana (−5.6 %) and Ether (−5.2 %). The Tron token TRX briefly rose after the Binance hack because the attacker exchanged stolen USDT into TRX, but ended the week 1.9 percent lower. The big picture: the week was dominated by the Binance hack and rising rate expectations, not by individual coins.

Outlook: what crypto investors should watch next week

• Sunday, 1 November: Binance aims to reopen withdrawals.
• Monday, 2 November: promised proof of reserves from Binance; Apple and Palantir report.
• Tuesday, 3 November: US midterm elections, which decide the future of the CLARITY Act; our analysis: what the midterms mean for Bitcoin and crypto.
• Wednesday, 4 November: first election results; Arm and Qualcomm report.
• Friday, 6 November: US jobs report for October, decisive for the Fed's December decision.

Our view: after a week with two historic shocks, the market is nervous but not in panic. The VIX stood at 19.4 on Friday, and Bitcoin held above $76,000. The next week will show whether Binance keeps its promises and whether the Fed's hike expectations hold. Anyone who wants to keep their coins safe from exchange risks will find the options in our hardware wallet comparison. This article is not investment advice.