Bitcoin falls below $77,000 after record $6.3 billion Binance hack
Binance has replaced 90 per cent of stolen assets and pledged to cover all remaining losses from the record cyberattack.
Bitcoin sank below $77,000 for the first time in more than a month on Friday, as a record $6.3 billion hack at Binance Holdings rattled the cryptocurrency industry, according to the Hindustan Times.
The breach, described by Binance as a complex attack involving a compromised laptop, is the largest crypto theft on record. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on Saturday that the exchange has already replaced 90 per cent of the stolen assets using company funds and is committed to covering the remaining 10 per cent.
Binance stated it has reserved $6.34 billion of company funds to cover the incident, utilizing its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), its Futures insurance fund, and its corporate treasury. The exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals but indicated it was on track to resume them on Sunday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation told Bloomberg News that it is aware of the incident and is coordinating with partners to evaluate the impact. Secret Service investigators are also working with the private sector to recover the stolen funds.
Stablecoin issuers took steps to freeze missing currency, with Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stating that more than $1.5 billion of the stablecoin was frozen. Circle Internet Group Inc. CEO Jeremy Allaire said $800 million of its coin had been frozen following reports of the exploit.
The market saw significant declines, with Bitcoin falling as low as $76,300 on Friday. Binance’s BNB token declined about 7 per cent since Wednesday to approximately $700.