Bitcoin Falls Below $77,000 as Binance Breach Rattles Crypto

Bitcoin fell below $77,000 on October 30, reaching intraday lows near $76,300 to $76,400, as a reported security breach at Binance coincided with a broad cryptocurrency selloff and heavy forced liquidations. The price later recovered some ground, with market readings at different times placing it above $77,000. Binance estimated the breach’s impact at about $6.3 billion and said roughly $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen. The exchange pledged to cover customer losses using company resources, including its Secure Asset Fund for Users, or SAFU. Those figures and commitments were reported by Binance; the final mechanics of the breach and the amount of losses ultimately recoverable have not been established. The exchange’s preliminary investigation pointed to a potentially compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. Binance said it found no evidence that wallet private keys had been leaked. The findings remain preliminary, and the company has not yet provided a completed technical account in the reports. The market decline was amplified by leveraged traders being forced out of positions as prices fell. Estimates of total crypto liquidations ranged from about $1.5...