The estimated $6.3 billion theft reported Thursday by crypto exchange Binance isn’t the first time the industry has dealt with a major, unexpected incident in which large sums of customer assets are frozen, spurring a rout in crypto stocks.

It may bring to mind crypto’s more turbulent days, such as the collapse of FTX, though in that full-on meltdown, with an initial shortfall of $8 billion to $8.9 billion, the Binance rival’s own founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was charged with the heist. Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud in 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Binance hack has rattled crypto markets: Bitcoin (BTC), other digital assets, and related stocks have sunk over the last…