Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Binance’s chief security officer described a fake job interview attack months before hackers used a similar tactic in the exchange’s $6.3 billion breach; OKX and NYSE parent ICE prepared to launch tokenized stock trading despite objections from dozens of major companies, and Barclays increased its holdings in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF by 48% in the third quarter.

Binance CSO unwittingly foreshadowed $6.3B hack tactic months before attack

Months before Binance lost $6.3 billion to a hack, its chief security officer described to Cointelegraph how a fake job interview could give attackers a foothold inside the exchange — closely resembling one of the entry methods later used against the exchange.

During a July interview about Binance’s response to rising security threats, Jimmy Su told Cointelegraph that fake job interviews were “something we worry about a lot internally,” explaining how attackers could tailor a job opportunity to an employee before persuading them to run code as part of a technical assessment.

“And once that gets executed, the device is compromised and then they can start harvesting credentials,” Su said, adding that attackers could then use that to penetrate further into the network.

Su’s detailed warning about malicious coding assessments was not included in Cointelegraph’s July coverage, but takes on new significance following the biggest crypto exchange hack in history.

OKXICE moves ahead with tokenized stocks as blue chips push back

Crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are set to launch tokenized stock trading on Nov. 23, despite objections from 67 companies to having their shares listed and warnings from Nasdaq that trading across disconnected platforms could fragment liquidity.

The venture, known as OKXICE, will operate under the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s temporary Innovation Exemption and offer eligible US customers round-the-clock trading. Under the exemption, venues must give companies a chance to object before listing shares tokenized by an unaffiliated third party. JPMorgan Chase, McDonald’s, SpaceX and Coca-Cola were among the companies that objected.

Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based tokens that represent company shares or track their price. The rights they carry depend on how they are structured. The distributed value of tokenized stocks and ETFs reached $3.88 billion on Nov. 11, up 13.4% over 30 days.

In comments to Cointelegraph, former New York governor and OKXICE co-chair Andrew Cuomo said investors would have “the same rights, protections and ownership that come with the underlying shares.”

Barclays boosts BlackRock Bitcoin ETF stake 48% as banks expand holdings

Barclays reported holding 3.94 million shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) at the end of the third quarter, up 48% from the previous quarter.

The position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) was worth about $187 million on Sept. 30, up from $88.5 million for 2.66 million shares on June 30, according to Barclays’ Friday Form 13F filing.

“Early readings suggest longer-term holders make up a growing share of the spot bitcoin ETF investor base,” Bitwise analyst Camran Khosravi told Cointelegraph, pointing to increased bank exposure, including at Citigroup.

Citigroup reported a new position worth about $119 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). Its reported IBIT holdings also rose 50% to about 521,000 shares, from 347,000 at the end of June.

The filings offer an early indication of changing institutional Bitcoin ETF ownership, with more major banks and hedge funds yet to disclose their third-quarter positions. Institutional investment managers have until Monday to file their third-quarter holdings reports.