Binance Hack Prompts Unaffected Firm to Weigh Bitcoin Sale

Nasdaq-listed Next Technology’s board on Oct. 30 gave its chief executive discretion to sell or pledge—use as collateral—its 5,833 bitcoin in one or more stages, with no commitment that any transaction will happen. None of the coins were held at Binance, so the company avoided direct loss from the exchange hack. The board cited a review of the incident, exchange vulnerabilities and potential quantum-computing threats in seeking to reduce risk and improve liquidity. At about $76,800 per bitcoin on Oct. 30, the holding was worth roughly $448 million and remained exposed to bitcoin’s price swings.