Binance sets aside $6.34 billion to cover crypto theft losses
The exchange has already replaced 80 per cent of stolen tokens and aims to restore withdrawal services in phases.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has set aside more than $6.34 billion to cover losses following a $6.3 billion security breach. According to reports from The Times of India and The Tribune, the company will use its corporate treasury and Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to absorb the financial impact so users do not lose money.
The breach occurred at approximately 20:05 UTC on October 29 when the exchange's hot wallets were compromised. Binance stated it has already bought back $5 billion worth of stolen assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), BNB, USDC, and USDT. The company is working to acquire the remaining tokens through market and OTC purchases.
Binance reported that it has managed to freeze approximately $3 billion of the stolen funds across blockchain networks. This effort involved coordination with industry partners, asset issuers, blockchain intelligence firms, and law enforcement agencies.
While an initial assessment suggested a compromised laptop caused the incident, subsequent investigations uncovered additional points of breach. The exchange said it has found no evidence that wallet private keys were leaked and expects further technical findings within approximately 48 hours.
The company is targeting a phased restoration of withdrawal services within about 34 hours, subject to security checks. Deposits and other services remain operational. Binance also plans to release an updated Proof of Reserves report by Monday, November 2.
Reuters reported that blockchain investigation firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis have linked the theft to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor. Binance has not publicly identified the perpetrators and said its investigation is ongoing.