Former Bank of England Deputy Governor Calls for Crypto 'Guard Rails' After Record Hack

Britain needs to establish regulatory "guard rails" to safeguard cryptocurrency following a record $6.3 billion hack, according to the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Sir Jon Cunliffe stated that the technology is evolving and will increasingly intersect with mainstream banking systems.

"We are seeing with social media platforms how difficult it is to retrofit regulation if you don't actually put the guardrails in early on," Cunliffe cautioned, referencing the recent attack on Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. He clarified that, as Binance is not authorized or operated within the UK, the mainstream financial system is not yet at risk of destabilization from such a crypto-related event.

Cybersecurity investigators have identified North Korea's state-backed Lazarus Group as the most likely perpetrator of the $6.3 billion hack. Experts from TRM Labs and Chainalysis cited key "signatures" linked to North Korea, which has also been implicated in a previous $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange in 2025. Isabella Chase, head of policy at TRM Labs, described the Binance attack as highly sophisticated and requiring many months of planning. She suggested that the attackers may have targeted a developer's laptop to gain the necessary approvals to move funds. While $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen, North Korea could potentially profit from the remaining $2.4 billion, which would still require laundering through crypto and conversion into usable cash for programs like its nuclear weapons development.