A Record Crypto Heist, and a Record Crypto Bet on Ohio's Senate Race

Hackers took more than $5 billion from Binance on Thursday, the biggest crypto theft ever. Five days before the election, the same industry has put more money into Ohio's Senate race than into any other contest in the country.

By Rich Vandall · Oct. 29, 2026

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange was robbed of more than $5 billion on Thursday. The theft came as crypto companies close out the biggest political spending push of any industry this election, with Ohio at the center of it.

The two stories are separate, but they meet at one question that is on the ballot here Tuesday: who writes the rules for crypto, and how much protection ordinary users get.

The heist

Binance was hacked Thursday afternoon. The attacker's wallet held more than $5.7 billion by evening, including about $1.5 billion in bitcoin and $900 million in ether, according to blockchain tracker Arkham. Chainalysis put the total at about $5.9 billion (CoinDesk).

That is about four times the previous record, the $1.4 billion stolen from the exchange Bybit in 2025, which was blamed on North Korean hackers (TechCrunch). Blockchain investigators ZachXBT and Blockaid said North Korea is the likely culprit this time too. That has not been confirmed (CoinDesk).

• What Binance says: It paused deposits and withdrawals, is working with law enforcement and will cover all losses, co-CEO Yi He said. Founder Changpeng Zhao said users' funds are safe and that the loss "might be a bit higher" than reported (CoinDesk).
• Can it pay? The stolen amount is about 4% of the roughly $144 billion Binance holds, according to DefiLlama. Binance's emergency fund for users holds about $1 billion, and the company hasn't said whether it will use it (CoinDesk).
• What's been frozen: Tether froze about $1.57 billion and Circle about $800 million of stolen stablecoins, more than $2.3 billion combined (CoinDesk).
• Market hit: Bitcoin fell about 5%, to near $77,000. Ether fell about 6% and Binance's own BNB token about 8% (CoinDesk).

Binance's road to here

Binance has been in Washington's sights before. In 2023 it agreed to a record $4.3 billion settlement with the Justice Department over anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, and Zhao pleaded guilty and stepped down as CEO (SAN).

President Trump pardoned Zhao on Oct. 23, 2025. The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance had helped World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto company, launch its USD1 stablecoin, and that an Emirati-backed fund then used USD1 for a $2 billion investment in Binance. World Liberty denied Binance was involved in that deal and said it had no role in the pardon. The White House said neither the President nor his family engages in conflicts of interest (SAN).

Binance is not among the industry's biggest political donors. That money comes mostly from U.S. firms, below.

The money: crypto is the biggest corporate spender in the midterms

By June 30, crypto companies had put $189 million into the 2026 elections, 37% of all corporate money in the cycle, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. That was more than Big Tech and AI companies ($60 million) and sports-betting companies ($45.6 million) combined (Public Citizen).

The biggest checks came from Ripple Labs ($49.6 million, nearly all to Fairshake and its affiliates) and Coinbase ($35.2 million, including $33 million to Fairshake) (Public Citizen).

Fairshake, the industry's main super PAC, and its affiliates had spent $150.8 million through Oct. 20, part of about $176 million crypto groups have spent across more than 100 congressional races, Reuters reported. Fairshake says 53 of the 58 candidates it backed in primaries and special elections won (crypto.news, citing Reuters). It backs House candidates in both parties. Its Senate money has gone mostly to Republicans since Senate Democrats blocked the industry's top bill in September, below.

Ohio: the most expensive crypto target in the country

Crypto groups have spent more on Ohio's Senate race than on any other, between $62 million and $68 million depending on the count (The American Prospect, crypto.news, citing Reuters). The race pits Republican Sen. Jon Husted, appointed in 2025, against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

• Defend American Jobs, Fairshake's Republican-side affiliate, reported $46,672,296 in Ohio spending on ads against Brown and for Husted as of its Oct. 15 filing with the Federal Election Commission. That is more than 50% above the $30 million Fairshake first pledged in September (crypto.news, CoinDesk).
• Digital Freedom Fund, a super PAC founded by the Winklevoss twins, reported about $5.9 million more, mostly mailers (crypto.news).
• A repeat. Fairshake spent about $40 million against Brown in 2024, when he lost to Republican Bernie Moreno (CoinDesk).

The next-largest crypto race in the country, Alabama's Senate contest, has drawn about $12 million, less than a fifth of Ohio's total (The American Prospect).

Crypto is one slice of a much bigger fight. Outside groups overall have spent more than $200 million supporting Husted and $97 million supporting Brown, making it the most expensive Senate general election of 2026, according to ad tracker AdImpact (The American Prospect).

Brown led seven polls taken since late September by an average of 4.3 points (The American Prospect).

Why the industry is spending

The industry's case: Fairshake says it supports candidates of either party who back "American financial innovation" and clear rules that keep crypto businesses in the U.S. (crypto.news). Brown chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was among the industry's toughest critics while in office.

The bill that stalled: On Sept. 15, the Senate fell short, 49-50, of the 60 votes needed to advance the CLARITY Act, which would split crypto oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. All Democrats and four Republicans voted no. Majority Leader John Thune said more than 100 changes had been made at Democrats' request. Democrats said its ethics language wouldn't stop officials, including the President's family, from profiting off crypto. Trump reported $1.4 billion in crypto-related income last year (CBS News). Brown, out of office, had no vote, but would be a major voice on the bill if he returns (The American Prospect).

The candidates: Brown's campaign says the spending shows Husted is "for sale" (CoinDesk). The Despoiler did not find a public response from Husted's campaign to the crypto spending in the coverage it reviewed, and will add one if it comes.

What Thursday adds: Rules for exchanges, including how they store customer money and what they owe when it's stolen, are exactly what the stalled bill and the next Congress will fight over. Thursday's theft is the largest test yet of those questions.

What to watch

• ☐ Binance: whether withdrawals resume, whether customers are made whole, and who is blamed
• ☐ The stolen money: how much more is frozen, and whether it moves through North Korea-linked laundering channels
• ☐ Ohio, Nov. 3: the Brown–Husted result, and the final crypto spending tally in post-election FEC reports
• ☐ The CLARITY Act: whether the Senate tries again after the election

Got a tip about political money in the Miami Valley? Send it to thedespoilerdayton@proton.me or via Signal.

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