Binance has reopened withdrawals and says it has covered most of the $6.3 billion stolen on Thursday. A new paper says the encryption protecting your bank could be broken sooner than anyone thought. Last night was Halloween, the one night people pay to be scared. And America’s clocks went back this morning. Four stories this Sunday, and what our guests have told me about each one.
Binance covers 90% of the hack
Binance has reopened withdrawals, starting with bitcoin, and says it has restored backing for 90% of the assets hit by Thursday’s $6.3 billion hack. That is cover from Binance, not money recovered from the attacker. The FBI said late on Saturday that North Korea was responsible. Bitcoin fell to a six-week low of about $76,000 before steadying.
Andreas Antonopoulos told me years ago this would keep happening, and why it doesn’t change the bigger picture: “Exchanges will get hacked, individuals will get hacked, and there will be money losses. Again, that’s not Bitcoin, though. It’s important to look behind the hype.”
▶ Watch Andreas Antonopoulos from 59:40
An exchange is a company. Bitcoin is a network. Know which one you’re trusting.
Quantum computers and your bank’s encryption
A new paper from the French quantum company Alice & Bob, published on 28 October, estimates that RSA-2048, the encryption behind much of online banking and the web, could be broken with around 22,600 qubits in about three days, or in just over an hour with a larger machine. Earlier estimates needed far more. The same kind of attack threatens the cryptography that secures crypto wallets.
David Carvalho is an ethical hacker who builds defences against exactly this: “Yes, quantum computers are real. It is an engineering problem. So if you throw enough people at it and enough money at it, just like, for example, China is doing, you’re going to crack it… We are witnessing the end of cybersecurity as we know it right now, slowly.”
▶ Watch David Carvalho from 7:18
This isn’t science fiction any more. It’s a deadline.
Halloween: what fear really is
Last night was the one night of the year people pay to be scared. But most of the fear that holds us back has nothing to do with ghosts.
Geoff Thompson worked the doors of some of the toughest nightclubs in Britain and became a bestselling author. Before that, he told me, he was stuck: “Till the age of 32, I was working in factories, sweeping floors, because I was terrified of my potential… Every time I reached the periphery of my comfort zone, I felt tremendous fear, terror, anxiety, depression… this voice would come in and just say, who do you think you are? That’s not for the likes of you.”
▶ Watch Geoff Thompson from 17:14
The scariest voice isn’t in a haunted house. It’s the one in your own head.
America’s clocks go back
Daylight saving time ended in the US at 2am this morning, a week after the UK. You got an extra hour, and your body clock took a jolt.
Tony Riddle told me why our ancestors didn’t have this problem: “They follow the Hadza… they’re only asleep for like minutes together… The difference is the habitat. They don’t have the ability to create sunrise at sunset, they have no light bulb… They don’t have a sleep debt.”
▶ Watch Tony Riddle on sleep from 1:39
Use the extra morning light. Get outside early, and let your body clock reset the way it was built to.
Which of these stories are you watching? Tell me on X at @brianbrose.
P.S. Every exchange hack is a reminder that access and trust matter. In our AI Investment Club, members meet the founders and see the deal before anyone invests. And in Dubai, our Luxury Property Investment Circle rebuilds dated villas in prime enclaves into the finished homes wealthy families are moving there for.
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This is commentary, not financial advice. Do your own research.
