Strive CEO Matt Cole said Binance held up well under the attack, and the incident has not changed his long-term view on Bitcoin. He also argued that the market held up better than he expected. Bitcoin was around $80,600 before the incident and fell to about $77,400, a drop of roughly 4%. Given the size of the attack and the weak state of crypto markets, Cole said that decline was limited. Still, he cautioned that the move does not prove Bitcoin has found a bottom.
Long-term plan stays in place
Cole said the incident will not affect Strive’s Bitcoin investment strategy. The company reported holding 43,000 BTC as of October 23. That position, he suggested, is part of a longer-term plan rather than a short-term trade. I think that distinction matters here. An exchange attack can shake confidence, but it does not automatically change the case for holding Bitcoin over years.
Recovery may take months
Cole described the current Bitcoin market as being in early spring. He expects recovery to take perhaps 6 to 9 months. In his view, Bitcoin is more likely to recover through gradual price gains than through a quick run to new record highs. He also said there is not enough evidence yet to say whether the market has reached its final bottom. That is a cautious take, and it fits the mixed signals in the market.
Cole compared the Binance attack to a bank robbery. He argued that the incident should not be treated as a failure of Bitcoin network security. Paul Chapman, head of financial crime at Wirex, made a similar point. The attack, he said, targeted the infrastructure of a centralized company, not the Bitcoin network itself.
Past attacks caused larger drops
Past exchange hacks offer some context. In 2025, after an attack on Bybit worth about $1.5 billion, Bitcoin fell from $100,000 to $95,000, about 5%, while broader market moves were also at play. CNBC, citing Anchorage Digital data, reported that Bitcoin has averaged an 8.3% drop in the first 24 hours after attacks on crypto exchanges. Compared with that history, the roughly 4% decline after the Binance attack is below average. That does not make the event harmless, but it does show a more contained price reaction.
Investigation continues
The investigation into how the attack was carried out is still ongoing. Ido Ben-Natan, CEO of blockchain security firm Blockaid, suggested that attackers may have exploited a weakness in Binance’s transaction signing process. He said 50 distinct authorization signatures were detected in a transaction on the Ethereum network. Matching those authorizations may have let the attackers run code under their control through the wallet. That claim is still being examined.
This is not investment advice.
