Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, says artificial intelligence is speeding up cyberattacks and crypto firms need to improve their defenses and coordinate their response to security incidents. In his first public interview since Binance was attacked on October 29, he warned that crypto is increasingly connected to stablecoins, tokenized stocks, real-world assets and traditional finance, meaning a major breach could have consequences beyond a single platform or industry.
CZ urges firms to use AI in defense
Speaking on the Talking Tokens podcast, Zhao said more capable AI could help hackers move faster, and companies should also make greater use of AI to strengthen defenses. He urged firms to invest in security staff and work with AI security providers. AI can help identify software vulnerabilities and improve protections, he said, but it cannot replace sustained investment or coordination across organizations.
The Binance incident comes amid other recent security events in the crypto sector. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said customer names and email addresses had been accessed, while Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin suffered a security incident involving $46 million. The cases have renewed attention on how platforms can prevent breaches, protect user data and respond when assets are stolen.
Zhao said he learned of the Binance attack shortly before midnight UAE time. He focused on communicating with the community while the company’s team worked to contain the incident and protect users. He attributed the market’s relative stability afterward, as well as net inflows to the platform, to Binance’s response, financial resources and user trust. Those were Zhao’s assessments; he gave no figures or measurement period for the reported inflows.
Binance describes a fake-interview attack
In an incident statement released on Tuesday, Binance said the attacker gained access to an employee’s computer through a fake job interview, then used the company’s internal AI tools to carry out the attack. The exchange also said it had identified and blocked 57 suspected cyber threats linked to North Korea in 2026.
Zhao said security incidents can be prevented when organizations give the issue enough attention, but lapses can leave them exposed. He did not provide a full technical account of the Binance incident in the interview. The company’s description points to employee devices, hiring processes and internal tools as parts of the security perimeter.
CZ calls for shared intelligence and faster freezes
Zhao urged crypto companies to form a security alliance to share lessons from incidents and best practices, conduct cross-audits and help freeze stolen funds more quickly. Security, he said, is not a task that ends once a company reaches a certain stage; it requires ongoing work as the business develops.
He added that Binance and the wider crypto industry were open to government assistance, warning that a large-scale security incident in crypto could affect other parts of the economy. Zhao did not say whether he had discussed this incident with US officials. For platforms and users, key questions include how the breach happened, what was affected, how assets are being handled and whether threat information can be shared promptly.