Binance resumes withdrawals following $6.3 billion breach
The cryptocurrency exchange said it's now covered 95% of the stolen assets.
Key points
- Binance froze all deposits and withdrawals after hackers stole $6.3 billion in crypto.
- The exchange says it has covered 95% of the stolen assets and will bear the financial impact.
- Withdrawals are resuming in phases, with some networks still partially or fully suspended.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced early Sunday that it would begin allowing withdrawals in a phased process. The company had frozen all deposits and withdrawals after hackers stole $6.3 billion worth of crypto from Binance wallets.
In its latest update, Binance said it has now covered 95% of the stolen assets and is still working to buy the remaining affected assets, which it described as less liquid in the market and taking longer to source at the required scale.
Company pledges to absorb losses
Binance said its commitment remains unchanged and that it will bear the financial impact of the stolen funds. The company added that these losses will not be passed on to users.
Binance said the withdrawal freeze was not a decision it made lightly, as it understands how important reliable access to withdrawals is for users. It called the freeze a necessary precaution while teams worked to contain the incident loss, assess its impact, restore affected services, and complete security checks.
Our commitment remains unchanged: Binance will bear the financial impact of the stolen funds. These losses will not be passed on to users.
— Binance
Phased resumption and delays
Binance will resume supporting withdrawals in phases, depending on network and asset type. As of Sunday morning, its network status page showed a mix of normal, partially suspended, and fully suspended statuses. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals and deposits were still listed as partially suspended, while Ethereum deposits were normal and withdrawals were partially suspended.
The company said users should expect temporary delays or longer processing times due to traffic volume. It also said it will publish a more in-depth incident report when its investigation is complete. Binance previously blamed North Korea hackers for the breach, and on Saturday the FBI said a North Korean group known as TraderTraitor was responsible and was converting the assets primarily into Ethereum, with further laundering likely.
