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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday, 31 October 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
☀️ The weekend’s weather: After the tumult of last weekend, today and tomorrow is going to feel calm and benign: dry, sometimes even sunny in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness, although the wind might be a little stronger in the north. Tomorrow will be even better. London will be fine today, but overcast tomorrow. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
The dramatic story of the biggest heist in history
🍸 The story behind the biggest heist in history is only just emerging. The hack of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, took place around the time we were all heading to bed on Thursday night. By yesterday morning there was enough to squeeze into The Early Line. We knew the scale - at least $6.3 billion. Not the detail.
The Wall Street Journal has the most comprehensive account I’ve read so far and, as it implies in its introduction, the tale has all the qualities of a dramatic movie - a horror movie, if you work in Crypto. The newspaper also nods to the implications of the hack, which must raise (yet more) questions about the security of cryptocurrency, the centralised control of some of its key assets, and how crypto owners are protected against losses from crime.
The detail in the WSJ’s coverage is, however, what makes it: especially the passage about a crisis call of 100 Binance staff being convened as the hack begun, and them watching as - in real time - billions flowed out of their accounts. It is surely a moment that will reach a silver screen near you, soon enough.
What we don’t know is how the movie will end. Efforts are underway to recover the funds - some has already been frozen. Analysts suggest the perpetrator is a North Korean-sponsored group, TraderTraitor: hackers linked to the country have been responsible for 89% of crypto hack losses so far this year, it is claimed. It’s also unclear how early promises to protect customers from huge losses will be kept.
In the end, it could be quite a messy story. (WSJ)
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What $6 billion buys you
A glimpse inside the new Jenners
Would you buy a never-ending cruise?
Tips on stocking up for a meltdown
An idyllic Scottish island hideaway for sale
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend.
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