Cryptocurrency rises 13% after Binance hack: prominent role for THORChain

While the crypto market is under pressure due to the massive hack at Binance, THORChain (RUNE) is showing a significant rise. The cryptocurrency rose by more than 13 percent on Friday. This occurred after it became known that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrencies had been moved via the THORChain network.

The RUNE price rose from approximately $0.59 to $0.67 on Friday. In doing so, the coin went against the downward trend in the broader crypto market.

THORChain is a decentralized network that allows users to exchange cryptocurrencies directly between different blockchains, without the intervention of a central crypto exchange.

That capability is also used by hackers to move stolen cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT discovered that cryptocurrencies from both the recent Binance hack and an earlier attack on Bitget were moved via THORChain. A portion of the funds reportedly ended up at the same Ethereum address.

An estimated $6.3 billion worth of crypto was stolen in the Binance hack. Researchers suspect that the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor is behind the attack.

This makes it the largest known cryptocurrency theft ever. The previous record was held by the Bybit hack in February 2025, in which approximately 1.5 billion dollars was stolen.

It is not the first time THORChain has been used to move stolen cryptocurrencies. After the Bybit hack, the attackers also used the network to exchange part of the loot.

The same thing happened after the hack at Bitget, in which, according to reports, hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto were stolen.

That caused discussion at the time. Bitget top woman Gracy Chen called on ThorChain to block addresses of hackers. However, the network argued that it cannot simply stop individual transactions.

The fact that stolen cryptocurrencies are moved via THORChain does not, however, mean that the network itself is involved in the attacks.

It is also unclear whether the rise in RUNE is directly due to the news about the stolen cryptocurrencies. However, the network is once again fully in the spotlight due to the Binance hack.

For now, the contrast remains stark. While the hack is causing significant losses and turmoil in the crypto market, the RUNE price is actually rising by double digits.