Binance hack: Trump weighs in as CFTC chair says offshore exchanges should register

30 Oct 2026

30 Oct 2026, 22:12 UTC+01:00

Regulation TradeReviewed News Desk

The $6.3 billion Binance hack has moved from a security story to a policy fight in Washington. On Friday, October 30, 2026, President Donald Trump said he is looking into the attack, while the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) used the incident to argue that offshore crypto exchanges should come under US federal oversight.

What Trump and the CFTC said

Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Trump said he was looking into the hack and noted that Binance has said it is making sure customers get their funds back, The Block reported. “But it’s a hack,” he said, adding that he had “always felt it was a little bit dangerous.” Cointelegraph separately reported that Trump said the exchange has the situation under control.

Earlier on CNBC, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the incident “proves our exact point” about the crypto rules the agency proposed on October 5. Those proposals cover leveraged and margined retail crypto trading and create a new registration category for exchanges offering those products. “The real issue here is that these are unregulated offshore exchanges,” Selig said. According to CriptoNoticias, he offered a federal path for such exchanges to register with the CFTC and become subject to the same cybersecurity standards that apply in US markets today.

Pressure on Congress grows

The Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone sent a letter to House and Senate leaders on Friday urging them to pass a bill that gives the CFTC authority over crypto exchanges and keeps customer and company funds separate in bankruptcy. The Clarity Act, which passed the House last year but has stalled in the Senate, is back in the debate. Senator Cynthia Lummis argued it would have given firms legal cover to freeze suspicious transactions faster, while Better Markets’ Amanda Fischer disputed that reading.

Where the hack stands

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the breach started in part with a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop that gave the attacker access to a service used to submit withdrawals. TRM Labs and other analytics firms attribute the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit, as we covered in our first report on the hack. Binance says it will cover losses with corporate funds and its SAFU fund, and that it will publish an updated proof of reserves once repairs are complete.

What it means for traders

• Regulatory headlines tied to Binance can add volatility to BTC, ETH and BNB over a thin weekend. Size positions accordingly.
• A push for onshore registration could, over time, change which exchanges are available to US and global users. Nothing changes immediately: these are proposals and letters, not new law.
• Spreading funds across venues and self-custody reduces single-exchange risk. Compare security and fees in our crypto exchange comparison, and read our BingX review (number 1) and OKX review (number 2). New to crypto? See where to buy your first Bitcoin.

This is not financial advice.

Sources

• The Block: President Trump says they’re looking into Binance hack as calls grow for crypto rules
• CriptoNoticias: Presidente de la CFTC propone registro federal para exchanges de criptomonedas
• Cointelegraph on X: Trump says Binance has the situation under control

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Related reviews

• Bingx review
• Okx review

Sources

• The Block: President Trump says they're looking into Binance hack as calls grow for crypto rules
• CriptoNoticias: Presidente de la CFTC propone registro federal para exchanges de criptomonedas
• Cointelegraph: Trump said he is monitoring the Binance hack

News is for information only and is not financial advice. More crypto news