Binance resumes withdrawals after recovering 95 per cent of stolen assets
The cryptocurrency exchange will restore withdrawals in phases after securing 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion stolen in a major heist.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, began resuming withdrawals in phases on Sunday after securing 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion in digital assets stolen from its platform. According to reports from Times of India, the first phase of withdrawals started between 0600 and 0900 GMT and included tokens such as bitcoin, ether, BNB, Solana, XRP, and dogecoin.
The exchange stated that the remaining 5 per cent of the stolen assets consist of less liquid tokens that may take longer to source in required quantities. Binance previously announced it would use its own funds, including part of its $1 billion secure asset fund for users, Futures insurance fund, and corporate treasure, to compensate for the losses.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed the cyberattack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking unit. The FBI said on Saturday that members of the group were observed converting the stolen assets into Ethereum and warned of further attempts to launder funds through decentralised finance platforms.
US President Donald Trump questioned whether North Korea's involvement had been established, stating on Saturday that investigators were still determining if Pyongyang was responsible. North Korea has denied using state-linked cyber units for financial theft or revenue generation for years.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the company is able to cover the losses through its ongoing investment of revenue into cryptocurrencies. Co-CEO Yi He also stated that the company's revenue for this year would completely cover the amount lost.