The biggest crypto stories of November 3, 2026 (UTC), ranked by importance and how many outlets covered them: 40+ stories, each linked to its sources.
Bitcoin rose 1.4% to about $77,800 even as US ETFs saw outflows and Binance detailed a $6.34 billion hack; Fear & Greed held at 53.
Bitmine bought 8,573 ETH in the week to Nov. 1, lifting holdings to 6,060,506 ETH, about 4.9% of supply, as Tom Lee downplayed the Binance hack's impact.
Strategy disclosed an 811 BTC purchase worth $65.5M, lifting holdings to 849,327 BTC, while funding $208.2M in STRC buybacks and building cash.
Brazil's largest exchange paused deposits and withdrawals after a security incident, while Hypernative flagged over $40M in suspicious transfers.
The FBI says North Korea was behind the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance, days after Trump said the US was still investigating the $6.3B hack.
On-chain tracker Lookonchain reports that large funds moved into Binance, with 24-hour net inflows reaching $1.822 billion according to DefiLlama CEX data. Inflows of this size can signal shifting exchange balances, though the snippet does not say which assets are involved or why the funds arrived.
Read on Lookonchain Story page
Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits, withdrawals and all services after a hack on November 2, 2026. The exchange says $11 million has been blocked, while Chainalysis estimates a $49 million drain across 17 blockchains. Reimbursement funding and a deadline have not been identified, which raises risk for affected users.
Read on The Cryptonomist Story page
The CFTC has approved the first equity perpetual futures contracts for trading on US exchanges. This is a regulatory step that could expand perpetual-style products onto US venues, which traders may watch for crypto market structure implications. The snippet is thin, so details on specific products and venues are not available.
BitMine chairman Tom Lee reads the muted market reaction to the $6.3 billion Binance hack as a bull signal, comparing it with the 2025 Bybit theft. Stablecoin and sentiment data, however, suggest money and confidence are still leaving the market. ETH traded near $2,254, down 1.71% over 24 hours, and has held up better than BTC this week.
Justin Sun is seeking sanctions against World Liberty Financial and its lawyers over allegedly delayed disclosure of UAE citizenship information in his $45 million federal lawsuit. The suit, filed in April 2026, alleges fraud, breach of contract and unlawful freezing of about 4 billion tokens. WLFI disputes the claims about its token-freezing powers, so traders should watch the sanctions ruling and the planned California state court case.
Read on The Cryptonomist Story page
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said at a Swiss crypto conference that the company holds a larger bitcoin treasury than its published financial statements show. The snippet cites a figure above $11 billion, raising questions about how Tether's reported holdings and asset ownership are disclosed to the market.
Read on Bitcoin.com News Story page
NEAR's governance body, the House of Stake, voted to cut the network's yearly issuance ceiling from 2.5% to 1.6%, phased in over 24 months. The vote alone does not change issuance, since Security Council review, a roughly 90-day grace period and validator adoption via a protocol upgrade are still required. No vote count was published.
Moscow Exchange plans to start crypto trading on December 1 under Russia's new crypto law, offering Bitcoin, Ether and USDT. Non-qualified investors will face annual purchase limits. The move brings a major regulated Russian venue into the market, which could matter for liquidity and regional adoption.
Read on Cointelegraph Story page
BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, saw about $405.3 million in outflows on Monday, its largest since June. US spot Bitcoin funds opened November with nearly $399 million in net outflows overall. Sustained ETF selling removes a key source of spot demand and can weigh on near-term Bitcoin price action.
Read on Cointelegraph Story page
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $399 million in net outflows on November 2, while spot Ether ETFs lost $140 million. Fidelity's FBTC led Bitcoin fund inflows at $6.68 million, and Morgan Stanley's Ethereum Trust took the largest Ether inflow at $3.15 million. Sustained ETF outflows signal weakening institutional demand for traders to watch.
Read on Wu Blockchain Story page
An analysis piece looks at how a North Korea-linked theft of tokenized Wall Street assets could play out, using the $6.3 billion Binance hack as the reference point. It argues tokenized securities may offer better legal recourse than crypto after a theft, but the surrounding markets can still break down under stress. Traders may find it useful as a risk-framing read on tokenization.
A Cboe-backed group has sued the CFTC over its approvals of single-stock perpetual contracts from Coinbase, Kalshi and Bitnomial. The complaint argues these contracts should be treated as security futures and seeks emergency relief to stop them being listed. The outcome could shape whether US exchanges can offer tokenized-stock style derivatives to traders.
Read on The Defiant Story page
Société Générale used its existing collateral systems to accept $10 million of DTCC-tokenized Treasuries on the Canton network in a controlled transaction. Recurring movements and repo financing are still planned next steps, so this is an early institutional test of tokenized collateral rather than a full rollout.
Read on The Defiant Story page
Binance says an attacker used a compromised computer and an internal AI tool to take control of wallets, according to a Reuters report relayed by Tree News. The disclosure adds to a run of security incidents at the exchange. Traders should watch for further details on losses and any effect on exchange reserves and confidence.
Crypto groups have spent roughly $176 million ahead of the US midterm elections, with the outcome affecting which party controls Congress. The result will shape the future of crypto legislation. Traders may watch the election outcome for signals on regulatory direction.
Read on Cointelegraph Story page
Bitcoin traded near $77,500 as U.S. midterm polls opened, down about 0.6% on the day and roughly $30,000 below a year earlier. The vote determines Congress control and the fate of the CLARITY Act, which failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 in September. Prediction markets favor Democrats for both chambers, a result that could shift the bill's timing and traders' risk sentiment.
Read on Bitcoin Magazine Story page
Bloomberg Law reports Binance does not carry cyber insurance covering the roughly $6.3 billion hack. The exchange says it has reserved more than $6.34 billion of company funds and is using emergency and futures reserves to replace stolen assets. Traders should watch reserve adequacy and any impact on BNB sentiment.
Read on The Defiant Story page
Binance has resumed withdrawals for Shiba Inu (SHIB), so users can move the token off the exchange again. The snippet adds that the token's chart still points to further downside. SHIB is not in the tracked asset list, so no tag is applied. For traders, this is a routine operational update rather than a major market event.
Binance has restored withdrawals for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin on Ethereum as it gradually resumes services after a large hack. The snippet describes the hack as $6.3 billion. For traders, this is a step toward normal exchange operations, but the asset tag is uncertain since RLUSD is not in the known symbol list.
Binance has reportedly spent about half of its SAFU fund's bitcoin, roughly $580 million worth. The user protection fund is now below the $800 million level that Binance's own rules set as the trigger for a top-up, and the exchange has not said when it will refill it. Traders may see this as a sign of strain on exchange safety buffers after recent hacks.
Bhutan's King has authorized the new Gelephu Central Bank to hold digital assets and cryptocurrencies as part of its national reserve. A sovereign central bank formally allowing crypto reserves is a notable institutional signal. The snippet gives no details on amounts or specific holdings, so the scale of impact is unclear.
On-chain analyst reports suspected North Korean hackers moved about $1.46 million through Jupiter Lend and Circle's cross-chain bridge, with no funds frozen. Jupiter's COO says the attackers only deposited and withdrew funds, unlike an earlier Aave incident. The case highlights laundering risk on Solana and the difficulty of freezing stolen assets.
Read on Wu Blockchain Story page
TD Cowen's Washington analyst Jaret Seiberg says a Democratic sweep of Congress would likely stall the CLARITY Act for two years and worsen the political climate for crypto. He notes polls and prediction markets favor Democrats taking both chambers. The House passed the bill 294-134 in July 2025, but it failed to clear the Senate, so the outlook for crypto market-structure legislation matters to traders.
Read on Bitcoin Magazine Story page
Attackers exploited a BTCPay Server vulnerability to drain hot wallets on servers running version 2.4.1 and older, even though a patch was released August 7. Bitquery linked about $1.63 million in Bitcoin and Litecoin to the theft-related addresses, with 682 wallet sweeps between October 30 and November 2. Operators are told to rebuild with fresh wallets and seeds.
Read on The Cryptonomist Story page
BlackRock's funds reportedly saw outflows of 7,244 BTC (about $558.3M) and 63,595 ETH (about $144.2M) in a single day, per Lookonchain on-chain tracking. Large outflows from a major spot ETF issuer can signal institutional selling pressure and weigh on near-term prices for both assets.
Read on Lookonchain Story page
The hacker behind the roughly $6.3 billion Binance hack moved all 233.46 million stolen XRP across six new wallets, with nine large payments emptying the holding address in about eight minutes. Worth roughly $294 million at about $1.26 per XRP, the coins cannot be frozen by Ripple, raising sell-pressure and security concerns for traders.
Read on Cryptopolitan Story page
The US reportedly struck Iran's Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the US midterm elections, answering IRGC fire on a US aircraft. Officials described the action as defensive and part of a series of limited strikes in a war that began February 28. Escalation risk in the Gulf is a macro factor that can hit risk assets and oil-linked markets.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the Binance hack shows offshore exchanges lack safeguards comparable to U.S. markets. He proposed an optional federal registration path for platforms that would require matching cybersecurity standards. He also noted that the attack did not target the blockchain or on-chain contracts, and that on-chain traceability could help regulators.
Read on Wu Blockchain Story page
Bitcoin fell below $77,000 as a chip-stock sell-off deepened and the Nasdaq 100 entered a correction, pulling Asian equities lower. BNB dropped under $700 and ZEC fell nearly 10%. Traders should watch the spillover from tech stocks into crypto ahead of the U.S. midterm vote.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark rate to 4.85%, a level not seen in 18 years. The hike was driven by higher costs tied to AI investment and energy prices. For traders, tighter central bank policy in a major economy can weigh on risk assets, including crypto, and adds to the global rate backdrop.
Read on Cointelegraph Story page
The FBI asked THORChain node operators and other DeFi services to block transactions tied to the roughly $6.3 billion Binance hack, which it blamed on North Korean-linked TraderTraitor. It has listed 608 Ethereum, 19 Bitcoin and one Solana address, but no Tron addresses. Because THORChain nodes operate independently, compliance with the request is uncertain, which matters for traders tracking hack fund flows.
Read on Cryptopolitan Story page
GitBook disclosed a security breach on November 2 that it attributes to sophisticated AI agents. The company revoked all personal API tokens and urged users to rotate their secrets. The story is a crypto-adjacent software security incident with no direct token exposure reported in the snippet, so its market impact is limited.
THORChain re-enabled swaps on most chains it had halted after an Oct. 31 Ethereum reorg, with Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin and Zcash resuming in the morning and Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tron later. BNB Smart Chain, Solana and Cosmos Hub were still halted as of 3:50 p.m. ET on Nov. 3. The halt had also delayed North Korean hackers moving funds stolen from Binance, and traders should watch the remaining chains.
Justin Drake is targeting December 2028 for Ethereum's transition to post-quantum cryptography. The proposed fork sequence would work across three protocol layers, while migrating existing wallets is a separate task. For traders, this is a long-range roadmap item with no near-term price catalyst.
Read on The Defiant Story page
China has reportedly paused approvals of new share listings after AI and chip stocks fell sharply, wiping about $480 billion from the STAR 50 index, which is down roughly 40% since July. The CSI 300 is also down about 20% from its June high. The story is about traditional equity markets, with only an indirect link to crypto through possible spillover risk to U.S. tech stocks.
Read on Cryptopolitan Story page
The Aztec Foundation released Tierra V6 for its Ethereum Layer 2, which it says fixes earlier security issues and doubles the speed of generating proofs for private transactions. The upgrade targets faster private applications on Ethereum. For traders, it is a technical infrastructure update with limited direct market impact.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse pushed back on concerns that Ripple's growing focus on its RLUSD stablecoin could undermine XRP. He argued the two assets are complementary rather than competing. For traders, this is a company statement on strategy with no direct price catalyst mentioned.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder, gave his first interview since the Binance hack and argued that AI is speeding up cyberattacks. He called for an industry-wide security alliance. The remarks are a policy stance rather than a market move, but they point to continued security focus at Binance after the incident.
Commentary on crypto's outlook heading into the US midterm elections, following what the piece describes as the largest hack in the industry's history. It frames the post-election period around possible investigations rather than new legislation. Traders may watch how political outcomes and hack fallout interact with market sentiment.
Prediction market bettors are increasingly pricing in a Democratic sweep of both the House and Senate as U.S. polls close in the midterm elections. Traders may watch this as a signal for how a Democratic-led Congress could shape future crypto legislation.