Binance the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange announced it has covered $6 billion of the $6.3 billion stolen during a massive cyberattack. The FBI attributed the heist to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking unit.
Binance used corporate reserves also its Futures Insurance Fund and 50% of its $1-billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to buy replacement tokens. The company pledged to fully replenish the SAFU fund to safeguard future customer assets. Less than 10% of the stolen funds remain unrecovered due to lower asset liquidity, though Binance and industry partners have already located $3 billion in affected funds.
According to the FBI the hackers converted stolen assets into Ethereum to launder the proceeds. North Korea has long denied involvement in state-sponsored cyber theft.
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng described the incident as a complex breach originating from a compromised laptop with malware designed to erase digital footprints. Following the attack crypto prices dropped and Binance temporarily suspended user withdrawals. The exchange expects to resume withdrawals following internal audits.
To reassure customers the Binance announced a fresh proof-of-reserves snapshot taken on October 31. Users holding key cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB and SOL will soon be able to verify that their holdings are backed at a 1:1 ratio.
