Investors have withdrawn $3.6bn (£2.7bn) in funds from cryptocurrency exchange Binance as it recovers from a record-breaking hack in which billions were stolen from customer accounts. The platform was hit by a $6.3 billion theft on Thursday, which has since been described as the biggest heist in history. Experts identified North Korea as the likely culprit. Binance initially froze withdrawals while it investigated the breach, but on Sunday announced it had begun a gradual reopening. snapshot. A full report is expected Monday. Binance said: “After an initial spike, withdrawal volumes have declined and are stabilizing as expected, while deposit volumes have remained substantial.” The crypto exchange told its clients that market conditions were stable and that its team was “rigorously testing the remaining networks and assets.” “We know how important secure and reliable access to your funds is and we will share details of the next phase as soon as we can,” he said on Later on Sunday, trading with Dogecoin and Avalanche coins resumed on their own platforms. The platform said it had replenished 90% of the stolen amount. The remaining 10% of the tokens were less liquid, meaning they could take longer to purchase, the company said in a post on X on Saturday. Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, 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 by private investigators and analysts that a North Korea-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack. TraderTraitor is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, which gained notoriety in 2014 when it was accused of hacking Sony Pictures as revenge for The Interview, a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. “Or around October 29,” the law enforcement agency said. Skip Newsletter Promotion Free Newsletter | Every weekday Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll tell you all the business news and analysis you need every morning after the newsletter promotion. The FBI added that it had observed “treacherous merchant actors” converting stolen assets into ethereum, and expected those assets to be further laundered by converting them using decentralized finance and instant exchange services. It said it was urging private sector entities “to block transactions with or derived from addresses that TraderTraitor actors” were “using to launder these stolen assets.” Teng said Friday that the breach was a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to remove evidence of its activity, making it more difficult to track and investigate. Binance said it had set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds to cover the losses. “Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident,” the company said. The money spent on the token buyback came from using part of its $1 billion user safe asset fund, a reserve of bitcoins it maintains to protect customers in case of security breaches, as well as part of its futures insurance fund and its own corporate treasury, Binance said in X. The attack came as many observers expressed concern about the ever-expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence. The models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols. Bitcoin plummeted almost 5% after news of the hack, while ethereum fell almost 6% and Binance-native BNB fell almost 10%. The magnitude of the hack has highlighted the ability of North Korea – which faces extensive international sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs – to find illicit means to capture revenue.
