Binance said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that it has finished replacing the roughly $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from its wallets in the Oct. 29 hack, the largest crypto theft on record.
The exchange says it is now resuming withdrawals in phases.
The story in 7 points
- Hackers stole about $6.3 billion in crypto from Binance wallets on Oct. 29.
- It is the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
- Binance says it has now fully replaced the stolen funds.
- The exchange committed more than $6.34 billion of its own money.
- The money came from its SAFU user-protection fund, its insurance fund and its corporate treasury.
- Withdrawals are being restarted in phases.
- Blockchain analysts at TRM Labs have linked the attack to a North Korean hacking group.
After the hack, Binance paused withdrawals while it investigated and worked out how to cover user losses. Its SAFU fund was set up years ago as an emergency reserve for exactly this kind of event.
Why it matters
Covering the losses in full protects Binance customers and helps prevent a wider panic in crypto markets. But the size of the theft, and its reported link to North Korea, adds to pressure on exchanges and regulators to tighten security across the industry.
Sources: Gizmodo, Quartz, Al Jazeera