Finance1 min read

Binance to resume withdrawals after recovering bulk of $6 billion in stolen funds

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Platform operators deployed internal reserves and insurance funds to guarantee user balances after an unprecedented twenty-minute cyberattack triggered market-wide price declines. The initial phase of withdrawals is scheduled between 0600 and 0900 GMT across 15 digital assets, including bitcoin, ether, XRP, and dogecoin. To guarantee customer balances, the company mobilized corporate treasury reserves, its Futures Insurance Fund, and half of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng explained that the breach was executed through a compromised laptop carrying self-deleting malware.

Key points

  • Binance moved swiftly to prevent customer losses by drawing extensively from its corporat…: Binance moved swiftly to prevent customer losses by drawing extensively from its corporate treasury and insurance reserves.
  • Law enforcement tied the record breach to North Korean hackers, though the White House ex…: Law enforcement tied the record breach to North Korean hackers, though the White House expressed caution regarding definitive attribution.
  • The security breach, executed via a compromised laptop and self-deleting malware, rattled…: The security breach, executed via a compromised laptop and self-deleting malware, rattled global cryptocurrency markets late Thursday.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The exchange, founded in China, said the first phase of withdrawals would start between 0600 and 0900 GMT and cover 15 cryptoassets including bitcoin, ether, XRP, dogecoin and others.

Also Read: FBI says North Korea behind $6 billion crypto theft from Binance

FBI TIES ATTACK TO NORTH KOREAN UNIT

The incident adds to a string of crypto thefts. Last year, attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks, according to researchers at TRM Labs.The FBI said on Saturday the North Korean state-sponsored unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack.

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.

Law enforcement observed members of the unit converting stolen assets into the cryptocurrency ether, the FBI said in a statement, adding that it expected "further laundering" of the assets through the use of related technology.

Analysts had blamed North Korea and said the Binance theft could be the largest financial heist of all time.

The bulk…

Finance