THORChain’s RUNE token rose more than 13% on Friday after Binance confirmed a $6.3 billion hack, drawing renewed attention to the protocol’s role in moving assets between blockchains and to earlier criticism over the handling of funds linked to major cryptocurrency thefts.
RUNE rallies as stolen-fund flows draw attention
RUNE climbed to $0.67 from a local low of $0.59 recorded at 12:20 a.m. UTC, according to TradingView data cited in the report. The move followed confirmation of the Binance hack and new information about how funds connected to recent attacks allegedly moved through THORChain.
Onchain investigator ZachXBT said on Friday that funds stolen from Binance, along with assets from September’s Bitget hack, had passed through THORChain before being combined at the same Ethereum address. The Bitget attack has been attributed to TraderTraitor, a group linked to North Korea, according to ZachXBT. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis have also connected the Binance hack to the group, according to Cointelegraph.
The reported activity has put the spotlight on THORChain because the protocol enables users to swap assets across different blockchains. That cross-chain function can support legitimate trading, but it has also made the network part of the route used to move funds associated with major hacks.
Previous disputes over Bybit and Bitget funds
This is not the first time THORChain has faced scrutiny over North Korea-linked funds. Hackers previously used the protocol to launder assets stolen in the $1.4 billion Bybit hack in February 2025. THORChain was also used to move funds from the $388 million Bitget hack.
After the Bitget exploit, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen urged THORChain to block addresses associated with the attacker. Chen argued that decentralization should not prevent the protocol from addressing transfers involving known stolen funds.
THORChain rejected that request, saying it had no mechanism to block individual swaps. The protocol said node operators could instead pause trading for an entire blockchain or across its network when responding to security risks.
The Bybit incident also exposed divisions among THORChain contributors. Core developer Pluto announced his departure after a pause on Ether trading was reversed, while validator TCB threatened to leave unless the protocol stopped processing funds linked to North Korea.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 22:38-22:39 on October 25, 2026, showed RUNE trading at $0.6292113401, down 2.24% over seven days but up 0.54% over 24 hours. The figures differ from the $0.67 level reported during Friday’s move because they reflect a separate market-data timestamp.
BNB was priced at $740.8618136891, with a 0.81% 24-hour gain and a 3.32% seven-day increase. FUNToken stood at $0.0089182414, up 1.62% over 24 hours and 0.08% over seven days, while Prom traded at $5.5186887726, up 2.73% and 17.27%, respectively, over those periods.
