Monday, 2 November - Sail away with me honey

Good morning, it’s Monday, 2 November. In your Squiz Today…

• Binance gets hit with the biggest cryptocurrency theft in history

• PM Anthony Albanese starts the week in the Caribbean

• And the Spirit of Tasmania finally sets sail… ⛴️

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Jonathan Liondis and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Says the title of Sakura Fujikawa’s costume for Jimi Halloween, a Japanese cultural trend also known as ‘Mundane Halloween’. It’s where participants dress up as ordinary people in specific situations - hoping someone does ‘Squizer reading newsletter on train’ for next year…

The biggest crypto hack in history

The Squiz

On Friday morning, hackers hit the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, and fleeced it for nearly $9 billion in about 20 minutes. It’s being described as not only the biggest cryptocurrency theft in history, but the biggest theft in history, full stop. For a couple of days, there was no official word on who did it - until yesterday, when the FBI pointed the finger at North Korea.

Tell me about Binance…

It’s the world’s largest exchange for cryptocurrency (a form of money that only exists digitally), handling around $135 billion worth of trades a day. This theft began with a single compromised laptop belonging to a Binance engineer, through which the hackers accessed Binance’s own systems and signed off on transactions that would drain digital ‘wallets’ of funds. And yesterday, the FBI said that the attack was the work of TraderTraitor, a state-backed North Korean online group that previously hacked a different exchange called Bybit for $2.1 billion. North Korea has denied involvement in previous hacks along these lines, but US authorities say money from thefts like this could go to supporting the country’s authoritarian regime.

What happens next?

In order to turn the cryptocurrency into spendable cash, the hackers would have to launder it (aka disguise where it came from so it can’t be traced back to them). The FBI expects the way they’ll try to do that is to use ‘swap services’ - websites where you can swap one cryptocurrency for another. So it’s now on a sort of digital hunt to identify transactions where that might be happening. While Binance reopened withdrawals yesterday and has promised to cover all of the stolen funds, the theft is raising concerns about the security of these online crypto exchanges. And if you hold any crypto yourself, analysts say it’s a reminder that there’s no government safety net if an exchange gets hacked - the only thing standing between Binance’s customers and big losses was Binance’s deep pockets…

Room to grow in Melbourne

There’s a heap of noise in the property market at the moment, and our partner Stockland has some thoughts on it. In Melbourne, Stockland reckons considering different suburbs doesn’t have to mean missing out. Its communities are built around the everyday things people look for, like parks, schools and shops. That includes Kalkallo in the north for transport and jobs, Truganina in the west for parks and schools, and Clyde in the south-east for green space. For first home buyers or investors, it’s about swapping ‘what am I giving up?’ for ‘what am I gaining?’ Check out more here.

Squiz the Rest

The CHOGM problem

PM Anthony Albanese is in Antigua and Barbuda this morning for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which runs until 4 November. Today, he’s expected to meet with new UK PM Andy Burnham and raise the prospect of adjusting our free trade agreement to add restrictions on UK backpackers coming to Oz - including that they spend time working in regional areas. But the trip is copping some criticism from the Coalition and One Nation - with the Reserve Bank widely expected to raise interest rates tomorrow, they say he should be here to deal with the fallout. As a reminder, if rates do go up, it’ll be the fifth rise this year alone - and take the cash rate to the highest level it’s been since 2008.

US President Donald Trump loses a lawsuit…

…against the Wall Street Journal, with a US judge throwing out the case yesterday. Trump sued the newspaper over a 2025 report, in which it published details of a letter allegedly written by him in 2003 to the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who would later be jailed for sex crimes. Trump denies he wrote the letter and sued the WSJ for defamation, but Judge Darrin Gayles said his case was “grasping at straws” and went against the principle of a free press. And if you think you’ve read this story before, you sort of have - the same judge previously threw out the suit when Trump was looking for damages of US$20 billion, but it was refiled for US$10 billion, and then thrown out again. The decision comes just before the US heads to the polls tomorrow for midterm elections - where Trump’s Republican Party is expected to struggle.
* If you want a refresher on the midterms, we’ve got a Squiz Shortcut for you.

The NSW gun buyback begins

From today, eligible gun owners in New South Wales will be able to sell their firearms and ammunition to the government. Following the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December last year, this is one of the reforms the Minns Government announced to get guns off the streets. It’s actually technically part of a national gun buyback scheme - but NSW is the only state to sign up to it so far. Premier Chris Minns says it’ll make for a “safer New South Wales”, but state Coalition leader Kellie Sloane isn’t a fan - she says the scheme is “half-baked” and both the Coalition and One Nation have promised to roll it back if they form government down the track. If you’re in NSW and you want to take part, you can do so at 6 police stations - before 34 more join the list on 1 December.

Australia’s Cape Town calamity

Our men’s national cricket team is getting some heat this morning after losing its 3-match Test series against South Africa on Saturday. The Aussies were in the lead after the first innings of the third Test in Cape Town, but a complete batting collapse in the second innings made for a heavy 176-run loss - and this is a team not accustomed to losing. It’s now dropped from the top spot in the world rankings for the first time since 2024, and captain Pat Cummins says that changes may be on the cards. Before the team’s next Test match in Perth on 9 December, expect a lot of talk about the futures of our batters, after some patchy performances throughout this tour - and the Ashes coming up in June next year…

Getting into the Spirit

The first passengers boarded the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries over the weekend, and the early reports are pretty positive. They would want to be… These new ferries, which transport people across the Bass Strait between Devonport in Tassie and Victoria, arrived 5 years late and cost around $700 million more than they were supposed to. But they’re here now, and they’ll carry about 400 more passengers per trip, have 60% more space for vehicles, and even have new pet-friendly cabins. Local man Brian Munday told the ABC that “the finished product is good”, and Devonport Mayor Alison Jarman said the ships were to Tassie as the Sydney Opera House is to Sydney, calling them “iconic”. Everyone’s ferry relieved about it… 

Interested in working with us?

A couple of weeks back, we mentioned that we've partnered with the good folks at POLITICO to look after their commercial interests here in Australia. We're now hiring for a dedicated POLITICO sales and partnerships manager.

If you're into the Canberra Playbook, have a passion for politics and commercial experience or the potential to make a good salesperson, get in touch and shoot us through your CV to [email protected].

Apropos of Nothing

Darwin angler Matthew Maurice has become the second person to win the Northern Territory’s Million Dollar Fish contest. By catching a barramundi with a special red tag on it, he captured the prize - and is probably having a very good Barra-Monday… 

Halloween aficionado Heidi Klum revealed her latest costume for her annual party yesterday - a severed hand. Here’s a full ranking of all her costumes so far, so you can work out where this particular monstrosity should sit…  

Talk about a long-haul trip that never left the ground - 4 NASA volunteers have stepped out after 378 days sealed away in a dress rehearsal for a Mars mission. We reckon they’re over the moon to be out…

Squiz the Day

7.00am (AEDT) - Motorsports: Formula One Mexico City Grand Prix - Mexico City, watch on Kayo 

10.00am (AEST) - Mention for Bruce Lehrmann to set a new trial date on 2 rape charges in Toowoomba. Lehrmann is not required to appear - Toowoomba 

Reserve Bank Monetary policy board meeting begins (until 3 November)

NSW gun buyback begins 

Westpac full-year financial results 

SACE exams begin for Year 12s in South Australia, and NTCET exams begin for Year 12s in the Northern Territory 

UEFA deadline for FIFA to release key documents and answer all questions relating to its governance and decision-making

ABS data release: building approvals, September 2026

All Souls' Day 

Day of the Dead - Mexico

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists

A birthday for actor David Schwimmer (1966) 

Anniversary of:

• the birthday of Marie Antoinette (1755)

• the first publication of women's fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar (1867)

• the start of cheerleading in the United States as Johnny Campbell leads the crowd cheering on the football team at the University of Minnesota (1898)

• the start of 'The Great Emu War' when Aussie soldiers were engaged to cull crop-destroying emus in Western Oz (1932)

• the release of The Godfather in Australia (1972)

• Democrat Jimmy Carter elected President of the United States (1976)

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