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Crypto exchanges have stepped up security measures after the USD 6.3 billion Binance hack, with Coinbase, Kraken and other industry players calling for faster responses to cyberattacks.
According to Reuters, several exchanges reviewed their systems on Friday following the October 29 breach. The attack also renewed discussions about sharing security alerts as digital assets gain wider access to traditional financial markets.
Coinbase said it had adjusted systems responsible for storing cryptocurrency keys offline. The exchange described the changes as precautionary and did not report any breach of its own infrastructure.
Kraken also began reviewing the incident for weaknesses that could affect its operations. A company spokesperson told Reuters that dedicated security teams continuously search for vulnerabilities and monitor threats across the cryptocurrency industry.
Meanwhile, Binance suspended withdrawals after attackers gained unauthorized access to wallets used to process customer transactions. The exchange has committed more than USD 6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses.
Franklin Templeton's head of crypto, Chris Perkins, called for immediate improvements to industry security. His comments came as U.S. regulators continued efforts to bring cryptocurrency services closer to the traditional financial system.
Investigators have yet to establish the full sequence of events that allowed attackers to access Binance's systems. The exchange initially suspected that hackers compromised a software engineer's laptop before gaining access to infrastructure handling withdrawals.
However, Binance later reported finding additional points of entry. Co-CEO Richard Teng described the incident as a "complex attack" and said investigators had not blamed any individual employee. The company also reported finding no evidence of leaked wallet private keys.
Security specialists believe social engineering may have played a role. The method involves deceiving employees into sharing sensitive information or allowing unauthorized access. Harry Donnelly, CEO of crypto risk company Circuit, said firms were planning additional employee training to address such threats.
Blockchain investigators TRM Labs and Chainalysis linked the theft to North Korean hackers based on similarities with earlier attacks. However, Binance has not confirmed the attackers' identities, and North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in cryptocurrency theft.
OKX CEO Star Xu has called for a shared warning system that would allow cryptocurrency exchanges to identify suspected thefts and coordinate their responses.
In a post on X, Xu proposed a "real-time alert system" through which companies could quickly exchange information, track suspicious transactions and temporarily restrict transfers involving stolen assets.
The proposal followed efforts by stablecoin issuers to block funds linked to Binance. Tether froze nearly USD 1.57 billion in USDT, while Circle restricted around USD 800 million in USDC.
However, Bitcoin and Ether cannot be frozen directly by a central issuer. Chainalysis also reported unusual transaction patterns as attackers moved stolen funds between wallets.
Josh Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at GSR, said he did not expect the wider industry to suffer material financial losses from the incident.
For now, exchanges are reviewing their defenses while Binance works with investigators to trace stolen assets and restore withdrawal services.
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