{
  "id": 19728144,
  "title": "Binance finishes covering US$6.3 billion of stolen customer tokens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/binance-finishes-covering-us-6-3-billion-of-stolen-customer-tokens",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-12T23:35:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/binance-finishes-covering-us6-3-billion-of-stolen-customer-tokens"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Binance has completed the process of restoring all stolen customer tokens, amounting to US$6.3 billion, following a major cybertheft on October 29, 2022. This marks a conclusion to the largest cybertheft in history, according to the world's largest crypto exchange. The occurrence was attributed to North Korea, with the digital asset industry currently experiencing a surge into mainstream finance. The hacking incident involved not only common cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin but also more obscure tokens, which necessitated more time for Binance to locate and purchase. By November 12, Binance had restored all stolen tokens, as stated in a social media post. The exchange utilized a combination of profits and emergency funds to swiftly return the majority of stolen tokens within days. However, 10% of the stolen funds required additional effort to retrieve. To launder the stolen cryptocurrencies, cybercriminals employed a complex network of tools, including thousands of digital wallets and transactions across multiple blockchains to obscure their origins. The automated transactions included more than 20,000 wallets and at least 65,000 transactions in the first week post-hack, averaging one new wallet every 30 seconds and one transaction every 10 seconds. Chinese money-laundering networks were also highlighted as playing a significant role in cashing out the funds. This cybertheft came at a time when the crypto industry was increasingly integrating into traditional finance, emphasizing the prevalence of cybersecurity challenges, particularly due to a key vulnerability involving an engineer who fell victim to a phishing scheme through a fraudulent job offer. Other crypto exchanges such as Bitget, Bybit, Coinkite, and Ledger have also experienced significant incidents recently.",
  "summary": "The crypto exchange said it had restored all cryptoassets lost as at Nov 12.",
  "key_points": [
    "Binance restores US$6.3 billion stolen tokens",
    "Incident attributed to North Korea cybertheft",
    "10% of funds required extra effort to retrieve"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Quartz",
        "title": "Binance has finished covering all $6.3 billion stolen in the record crypto hack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/binance-has-finished-covering-all-6-3-billion-stolen-in-the-record",
        "published": "2026-11-12T18:30:20.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}