Binance pledges to cover $6.3bn hack losses after massive crypto theft
Binance has pledged to cover all customer losses from a security breach with an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, as the cryptocurrency exchange scrambles to contain the fallout from one of the industry's biggest hacks. “Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU [Secure Asset Fund for Users] fund and the company’s funds. User funds are safe. We will also publish an updated Proof of Reserves…
Binance has committed to absorbing all financial losses incurred from a recent security breach that is estimated to have resulted in $6.3 billion in damages. The exchange is actively working to mitigate the repercussions of one of the largest hacks in the cryptocurrency industry. "Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and the company's funds.
User funds are safe," stated a Binance representative. The Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), which was created in 2018 to safeguard customers from losses due to security breaches, typically holds around $1 billion. The company has not disclosed how much it anticipates using from this fund or its own reserves to cover the losses.
About $3 billion worth of affected assets have been frozen on-chain, while deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily suspended as security teams investigate the incident. The incident also sent shockwaves through cryptocurrency markets, with Bitcoin dropping 4.5% to $76,664 and Ether decreasing by 5.2% on the same day. The value of BNB, the token associated with Binance, fell by 7.1%.
Over the course of a day, more than $1.5 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated. An initial investigation suggests that the breach may have been the result of a compromised laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer, which allowed the attackers to access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
Binance has found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked and has revoked the affected address authorization. The company is collaborating with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to track down the stolen assets. Despite Binance's assurances, the incident has raised concerns and skepticism among cryptocurrency users on social media.
Anchorage Digital, a regulated financial services and technology platform, responded to client concerns on X, stating that they are aware of the situation, are in touch with their clients, and are unaffected. Binance has pledged to publish a detailed technical report following its investigation, along with an updated Proof of Reserves.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
