Binance customers withdraw $3.64 billion following $6.3 billion crypto heist
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange reported that outflows are stabilising after hackers stole approximately $6.3 billion from its wallets last week.
Customers of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, withdrew $3.64 billion following a heist in which hackers stole approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency last week, according to a Times of India report. The outflows represented about 2.1 per cent of the total assets held by the exchange, which had $171 billion in assets under management as of October 28.
Binance stated that the exchange is resuming services and that withdrawal volumes are now stabilising. The company said it has already used approximately $6 billion of its own funds to replace around 95 per cent of the stolen assets, noting that the remaining 5 per cent consists of less liquid cryptocurrencies.
Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, told Reuters that the withdrawals appeared to be a precautionary reaction rather than capital flight. Binance has indicated it will cover the financial impact of the breach by setting aside approximately $6.34 billion from its corporate treasury, Futures Insurance Fund, and Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU).
The exchange began resuming withdrawals in phases on Sunday, starting with 15 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Dogecoin, USDT, and USDC. Binance said on X that it is prioritising tokens based on user demand from the previous week and that market conditions remain stable.
While crypto analytics platform DefiLlama reported higher outflows of $5.81 billion, Binance disputed these figures. A Binance spokesperson said the DefiLlama data was inaccurate because it did not include flows deposited into the company's new hot wallet.