Binance said it had started to restore crypto withdrawals in phases after announcing it had covered almost 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion in digital currencies taken from its platform in what has been characterised as one of the biggest crypto heists on record.
The world’s largest crypto exchange said Sunday that Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin and other digital currencies will be part of the first phase of withdrawals. The company said services would be restored gradually as it completed security and operational tests.
In an update on its website, Binance claimed it has bought back about $6 billion of the stolen assets, with the remaining five percent consisting mostly of less liquid tokens that could take longer to buy in the minimum numbers.
The exchange said it would not pass on the financial effect of the incident to customers and would use its own resources to cover any losses. The replacement monies were drawn from its Secure Asset Fund for Users, futures insurance reserves and company treasury, it added.
Following the incident, Binance had temporarily halted withdrawals as it evaluated the extent of the damage, improved its security protocols and collaborated with law enforcement agencies and industry partners to track down the stolen funds. The corporation said that deposits remained open during the outage.
A report said the hack involved the loss of digital currencies worth about $6.3 billion from wallets owned by Binance on many blockchain networks. The exchange said the incident comprised a hacked laptop and malicious software to remove evidence of the attackers’ actions. The bulk of the theft reportedly happened in around 20 minutes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed the attack on TraderTraitor, a hacker outfit funded by the North Korean regime. Investigators stated the perpetrators were seen turning the stolen assets into Ethereum, warning that more attempts to launder the monies may follow.
The FBI has asked bitcoin platforms and other organisations to ban transactions to addresses linked to the alleged attackers. North Korea has always denied allegations that it deploys state-linked cyber divisions to steal money and engage in other criminal actions.
But US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Washington has not determined whether North Korea was involved, adding the topic was still under investigation. The comment points out that the FBI attribution should be separated from a publicly confirmed result that has been agreed by all parties.
The incident has prompted renewed questions about the safety of bitcoin exchanges and the hazards of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. Binance said it would continue working with investigators and industry partners to retrieve the outstanding assets and bolster its security systems.
The company also stated it would release a thorough post-incident report once the inquiry is complete, while committing to replenish its user-protection fund after using part of its reserves to cover the losses.
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