Finance1 min read

Binance replenishes 90% of assets stolen in security incident

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Platform leadership internally earmarked about $6.34 billion to address the massive breach, which included partially deploying its $1 billion SAFU bitcoin reserve. The outstanding 10 percent of missing assets consists of less liquid tokens that cannot be acquired immediately in high quantities. To restore market confidence, the company took a snapshot of platform holdings on October 31 as part of its proof-of-reserves process. This verification will allow holders of designated assets like BTC, ETH, and USDT to verify their balances remain backed at least 1:1.

Key points

  • Less liquid tokens account for the final 10 percent of unrecovered assets because obtaini…: Less liquid tokens account for the final 10 percent of unrecovered assets because obtaining them in large quantities requires extra time.
  • Customer withdrawal services remain scheduled to resume on Sunday, November 1, matching t…: Customer withdrawal services remain scheduled to resume on Sunday, November 1, matching the timeline initially shared by the company.
  • Transparent reserve audits aim to reassure account holders by proving major tokens like S…: Transparent reserve audits aim to reassure account holders by proving major tokens like Solana, Ripple, and stablecoins remain fully solvent.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Oct 31 : Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Saturday it has been able to cover 90 per cent of the amount stolen after a record $6.3 billion hack of its platform.

The outstanding 10 per cent consists of tokens that are less liquid, which means they may take longer to source in the required amounts, it said in a statement.

The exchange said it has set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses.

Binance said the replenishment involved a partial deployment of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a bitcoin reserve it holds to protect customers in the event of security breaches.

The company's co-CEO, Richard Teng, said on Friday that the breach was a "complex attack" involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it harder to trace and investigate.

Binance also said it had taken a new snapshot of assets held on its platform as of 0000 GMT on October 31, as part of its proof-of-reserves process.

Users holding the 10 listed tokens…

Finance