Binance cofounder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao says AI is speeding up cyberattacks and wants companies to build AI-based defenses. He also proposes an industry security alliance to share lessons and freeze stolen funds faster.
Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, Binance's cofounder and former CEO, said AI is accelerating cyberattacks and argued that companies should invest in AI-based defenses, security personnel and partnerships with AI security providers.
Zhao spoke in his first public interview since the Oct. 29 hack of Binance, on the Talking Tokens podcast. He said the threat reaches beyond single companies to the broader crypto industry and global finance, given crypto's links to stablecoins, tokenized stocks, real-world assets and traditional finance.
Zhao: fight AI attacks with AI
According to Zhao: "The only way to fight a monster is to kind of become that monster." He expects hacking to speed up because of AI capabilities, and said defenders must use more AI in response.
Earlier Tuesday, the exchange said hackers used a fake job interview to compromise an employee's computer before leveraging an internal AI tool. Binance also detected and prevented 57 suspected North Korea-linked cyber threats in 2026.
A proposed industry alliance
Zhao called for an industry alliance to share lessons and best practices, conduct cross-audits and help freeze stolen funds more quickly. He views security as an ongoing process rather than a milestone that must be reached before adoption.
The comments come amid other security incidents, including an AI-assisted breach at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and a $46 million security incident at Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
Zhao said he had not spoken with President Donald Trump or other U.S. officials about the incident, but that Binance and the broader crypto industry would welcome government assistance.
Source: The Block
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