Binance Raises $6 Billion to Cover Hack Losses and Freezes $3 Billion in Assets
Key Facts
Binance raised about $6 billion from its corporate treasury, an insurance fund and reserves set aside for security incidents to cover hack losses, Reuters reported on November 2. The platform estimated the incident’s total impact at about $6.3 billion and said it had worked with blockchain partners to freeze about $3 billion in affected on-chain assets through October 30. The steps come after withdrawals resumed, while Binance said customer inflows reached $2.7 billion since Sunday. It added that the pace of withdrawals stabilized after an initial rise. This puts the platform’s ability to meet its obligations to an early test as customers regain access to their assets in stages.
Binance said in an update dated November 1 that it had compensated for about 95% of the value of affected assets, up from 90% in its previous update. It said the remaining 5% consisted of less liquid tokens outside the top 10 tokens on its list, making it slower to buy the required amount. The compensation figure refers to the value of affected assets that the platform said it had covered, not to the recovery of the stolen assets themselves. On proof of reserves, Binance said it would update its reserves snapshot to include additional tokens on November 4. It estimated that preparing a new full zero-knowledge proof would take about 40 to 50 hours afterward.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation blamed North Korea for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance and said the operation took place on or around October 29. The bureau published its announcement on October 31 and named the cyber activity linked to the incident TraderTraitor. It said actors affiliated with the group converted the stolen assets primarily into Ether. U.S. authorities also urged virtual-asset services to block transactions linked to addresses used by the group. These steps connect the investigation into the theft with efforts to limit the movement of stolen assets through trading services.
Reuters said about half of the stolen assets were stablecoins and that issuers froze those assets. The agency noted that the freeze does not mean the coins will be returned to Binance. These figures reflect two different updates on freezing measures. Recovery of the frozen balances remains separate from Binance’s compensation to customers for the value of affected assets.
Pressure also spread to cryptocurrency markets, with spot Bitcoin funds recording outflows of $643 million on Friday, their largest daily withdrawals in October, according to Reuters. Liquidations of leveraged positions exceeded $1.3 billion through November 2. The platform gradually reopened service while keeping deposits open. The next step in restoring service remains tied to asset checks and readiness before assets are made available to customers.
Binance said the next phase of withdrawal resumption would begin on November 3 at 04:00 UTC. Listed assets will become available gradually after security and readiness checks are completed, and they will not all become available at the same time. The platform also plans to update its reserves snapshot to include additional tokens on November 4, then prepare a new full zero-knowledge proof over about 40 to 50 hours. These dates provide a timeline for restoring withdrawals and expanding reserves disclosures. The pace of availability will depend on the completion of checks for each asset.