Elon Musk predicts AI agents will steal crypto for themselves after Binance breach
In brief
- Elon Musk predicted on X that superintelligent AI agents will steal crypto for themselves
- Musk was replying to commentator Blaney's breakdown of the Binance breach
- Binance said the breach involved about $6.3 billion in crypto assets
- Binance said it has frozen about $3 billion with blockchain partners
What Musk said
Musk's post was a reply to crypto commentator Blaney, who'd laid out how the hacker allegedly got around the measures meant to freeze crypto stolen from Binance. Musk didn't stop at the breach itself. He suggested that, at some point, superintelligent AI agents would carry out the same steps on their own (to get crypto for themselves rather than for a human operator).
"Super intelligence agents will at some point do this to gain currency for themselves not a human"
It's a prediction, not a finding.
How the funds moved, per Blaney
Blaney's post said stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle had frozen billions of dollars' worth of USDT and USDC after the breach. According to the post, as relayed by U.Today, the hacker apparently obtained Ethereum (ETH) before the funds could be fully frozen.
The hacker then reportedly deposited $60 million worth of USDT into Aave, the defi lending protocol, and borrowed about $44.6 million worth of wrapped ETH, Blaney's post said. That step matters. Unlike centralized stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, ETH can't be frozen by a centralized issuer, and that's the gap Blaney's breakdown pointed to.
Binance's response
U.Today described the incident as one of the largest security breaches in crypto history and called Binance the world's largest crypto exchange. According to Binance, the breach involved about $6.3 billion in crypto assets.
The exchange said it has frozen about $3 billion worth of affected assets, working with its blockchain partners, according to the report. The report doesn't specify how Binance's figure relates to the USDT and USDC freezes Blaney attributed to Tether and Circle.
Musk's point wasn't really about the dollar amount. It was about who runs that playbook next time (in his telling, an AI agent working for itself), and he didn't put a date on when he thinks that happens beyond "at some point."
Frequently asked questions
What did Elon Musk predict about AI agents and crypto?
Elon Musk said he expects superintelligent AI agents to eventually steal crypto to make money for themselves rather than for humans. He shared the prediction on X on October 30 while commenting on the Binance security breach, according to U.Today.
How much crypto was involved in the Binance breach?
According to Binance, as reported by U.Today, the breach involved about $6.3 billion in crypto assets. Binance said it has frozen about $3 billion worth of affected assets in collaboration with its blockchain partners.
