Binance covers $6 billion of $6.3 billion stolen in major hack
The cryptocurrency exchange used company funds to replace assets stolen by a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor.
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has covered $6 billion of the $6.3 billion stolen during a massive hack, according to reports from Mint and India Today. The company used its own corporate treasury, its Futures Insurance Fund, and part of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to buy replacement tokens.
The FBI and blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking unit. The theft began around 4:20 PM on Thursday, 29 October, when unusual transactions started draining funds from Binance-linked accounts.
Binance co-CEO He Yi and co-CEO Richard Teng coordinated the response. Teng described the incident as a complex attack involving a compromised laptop and malicious software. He Yi, who was in Abu Dhabi, worked through the night to manage the crisis.
The exchange initially halted deposits and withdrawals to contain the breach. While Binance stated it had covered 90 per cent of the impacted amount, it noted that the remaining assets are less liquid and may take longer to source.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle froze holdings linked to the attack, with the combined value of frozen assets exceeding $2 billion, according to a New York Times report cited by Mint. Binance has set aside approximately $6.34 billion to cover the total losses.