Binance Resumes Bitcoin Withdrawals After Covering 95% of $6.3 Billion Theft
Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, resumed bitcoin withdrawals on Sunday, November 1, with other assets to follow in phases, after covering 95% of the $6.3 billion in tokens stolen from its platform in what is described as the world's largest digital heist. Binance posted on its status page shortly after 0600 GMT that the planned withdrawals had begun.
Binance said the first phase covers 15 cryptoassets, including bitcoin, ether, XRP and dogecoin. The exchange said it had covered $6 billion of the stolen cryptocurrencies by using company money to buy replacement tokens. The remaining 5% consists of assets that are less liquid and may take longer to source in the required amounts.
The money came from Binance's $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), its Futures Insurance Fund and its corporate treasury. Co-CEO Yi He said on Saturday that 50% of the SAFU funds would be used, and that the company had committed to replenishing the fund to about $1 billion. Binance has said it set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses.
The bulk of the theft unfolded in around 20 minutes beginning late on Thursday, October 29. Co-CEO Richard Teng has said the breach was a "complex attack" involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity. Binance said it had been working with industry partners to freeze some of the affected assets, with about $3 billion located as of Friday, October 30. Crypto prices fell on Friday as the exchange sought to reassure customers that their funds were safe.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Saturday, October 31, that the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack, adding that law enforcement had observed members of the unit converting stolen assets into ether and expected further laundering. Pyongyang has for years denied using state-linked cyber units for espionage, financial theft and revenue; its mission in Geneva and embassy in China did not respond to requests for comment. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was still not certain North Korea was involved: "We don't know if it's North Korea — but if it is, we'll talk to North Korea about it."
Binance says it has 335 million registered users globally and held about $162.8 billion in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report. According to researchers at TRM Labs, attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks last year.
Related: FBI: North Korea Responsible for $6 Billion+ Binance Theft
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加密货币交易所币安（Binance）标志。公共领域图形标志，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Binance logo. Public-domain logo via Wikimedia Commons.
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