Binance withdrawals resume following $6 billion hack

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it has resumed withdrawals after a record $6.3 billion was stolen from its digital wallets last week. “Today, we’re beginning the phased resumption of withdrawals, taking a careful approach to ensure services return safely and securely,” Binance co-CEO Richard Teng posted on X early Sunday. “Our commitment remains clear: Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not our users.” The company has resumed withdrawals for 15 digital currencies — including Bitcoin, Solana and Ethereum — as of 7:36 a.m. ET. Binance will “continue to restore additional assets and networks in phases as security checks are completed.” The phases are being prioritized based on user demand over the past week, the company noted. Binance said it had processed around $4.6 billion in withdrawals and $1 billion in deposits by 10:30 a.m. ET. The company said it is testing its remaining systems and assets. “We know how important safe and reliable access to your funds is and will share details of the next phase as soon as we can,” Binance wrote. “Rest assured that market conditions are stable.” Some users may face delays or longer processing times, the company warned. Binance had suspended withdrawals on Friday after its system was hacked. “We did not take this decision lightly. We understand how important reliable access to withdrawals is for our users,” the company wrote in a statement on X. About 95% of the stolen amount is covered, the company said, as it has planned to “fully absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not users.” Binance said it used its Secure Assets Fund for Users — a reserve fund of roughly $1 billion in Bitcoin — as well as its corporate treasury and Futures insurance fund to cover the losses. The 5% of tokens that have not been covered are “less liquid in the market and take (a) longer time to source at the required scale” than the top 10 coins, such as Bitcoin and Solana. Those top 10 digital currencies are “fully backed 100%.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday reported that TraderTraitor — cyber actors sponsored by North Korea since at least 2020 — were responsible for the theft. The FBI said TraderTraitor actors are converting the currencies, mainly into Ethereum. “We sincerely thank (the FBI) for their strong support during this challenging time,” Binance posted on X in response to the bureau’s update. Binance said it has conducted security reviews, worked with law enforcement and partners to recover the funds and monitored risks following the breach. “We recognize how difficult this period has been for our users and the broader Binance community,” the company said in a statement. “Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued trust as our teams worked through this incident with the seriousness it required.” Binance also thanked industry partners for freezing and tracing stolen funds. A team of cryptocurrency firms had managed to freeze about $3 billion of the stolen assets.