Binance to resume withdrawals after recovering bulk of $6 billion in stolen funds

Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it will gradually resume withdrawals beginning between 0600 and 0900 GMT on Sunday. This follows the recovery of 95% of the $6.3 billion in stolen tokens, which marks the largest digital heist in history, according to the FBI. The exchange stated that the reinstatement will initially include Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and other tokens.

The remaining 5% of the stolen assets are less liquid and will require more time to source in sufficient quantities. Binance disclosed this information on X, formerly Twitter, late on Saturday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed the attack to a North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor.

The FBI provided further details, stating that the unit is responsible for the theft. They noted that members of the unit had been observed converting the stolen assets into Ethereum. The FBI expects that the assets may undergo further laundering through the use of related technology. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, has consistently denied any involvement of state-linked cyber units in espionage, financial theft, or revenue generation.

The exchange's mission in Geneva and its embassy in China did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.