Reported by The Guardian
Cryptocurrency exchange has begun to allow withdrawals after $6.3bn theft believed to have come from North Korea
Investors have pulled $3.6bn (£2.7bn) in funds from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance , as it recovers from a record hack in which billions were stolen from customer accounts.
The platform was hit by a $6.3bn theft on Thursday, which has since been described as the biggest heist in history. Experts identified North Korea as the likely culprit .
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Binance initially froze withdrawals as it investigated the breach but on Sunday announced that it had begun a phased reopening .
By Sunday afternoon, Binance had processed $4.6bn in withdrawals and $1bn in deposits, resulting in a net outflow of about $3.6bn – representing 2.1% of its $171bn in total assets under management.
The numbers were confirmed by the company in its latest proof of reserves snapshot. A full report is expected on Monday.
Binance said that “after an initial spike, withdrawal volumes have declined and are stabilising as expected, while deposit volumes have remained substantial.”
The crypto exchange told its customers that “market conditions are stable” and that its team was “testing rigorously the remaining networks and assets”.
“We know how important safe and reliable access to your funds is and will share details of the next phase as soon as we can,” it said on X.
In the first phase Binance restored withdrawals for 15 networks and assets, including ethereum, USDT and USDC tokens on the ethereum blockchain, as well as some others held on the BNB Smart Chain blockchain. Later on Sunday, dealing in the Dogecoin and Avalanche currencies resumed on their own platforms.
The platform said it had replenished 90% of the amount stolen. The remaining 10% of tokens were less liquid, meaning they may take longer to buy, the company said in a post on X on Saturday.
Richard Teng, Binance’s co-chief executive, said separately that the company was “committed to covering the remaining 10%” and users would not bear the financial impact of the hack.
On Saturday the FBI confirmed earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a…