Binance sees spike in withdrawals as exchange returns online after US$6.3 billion hack
Binance customers pulled US$3.64 billion, or 2.1 per cent of its assets, as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange went back online on Sunday after hackers the FBI links to North Korea stole billions from the platform last week. Binance said withdrawals were stabilising after an initial spike and deposit volumes had remained “substantial”. The exchange said it had now covered 95 per cent of…
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, experienced a surge in withdrawals following a recent $6.3 billion hack believed to be carried out by a North Korean state-sponsored group. As the platform returned online on Sunday, Binance reported that withdrawals had stabilized after an initial spike and deposits remained substantial.
The exchange had covered 95% of the stolen assets, totaling $6.3 billion. Analysts believe this incident may be the largest financial robbery in history. Withdrawal levels serve as an initial gauge of customer trust in the exchange post-attack. The theft involved nearly 150 incidents, resulting in $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency being stolen last year.
Binance stated that withdrawal levels reflect the combined withdrawals and deposits as of 3:30 PM GMT. Crypto analytics platform DefiLlama reported higher outflows at $4.36 billion, though this figure did not include deposits to Binance's new hot wallet. Binance prioritized user demand by phasing out withdrawals, initially covering 15 tokens including Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, USDT, and Dogecoin.
The exchange later revealed it had used company funds to buy replacement tokens for 95% of the stolen assets, with the remaining 5% consisting of less liquid assets that would take longer to acquire. The FBI attributed the hack to North Korea's TraderTraitor unit, though Pyongyang has denied state involvement. US law enforcement observed the unit converting stolen assets into Ether, expecting further laundering through related technology.
Binance has been collaborating with other crypto firms to freeze affected assets, with about $3 billion located by Friday. The company has set aside $6.34 billion to cover the losses, utilizing funds from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), Futures Insurance Fund, and corporate treasury. Binance CEO Zhao stated that 50% of the SAFU funds would be used, and the company committed to replenishing the fund to approximately $1 billion.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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