Binance has begun restoring customer withdrawals after a cyberattack on October 29 that, according to the FBI, was probably carried out by North Korean hackers. The attackers allegedly stole digital currencies worth $6.3 billion from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with most of the theft taking place within about 20 minutes.
Binance said the attack was carried out through the laptop of an employee in its IT department. With support from US authorities and partner companies, the exchange managed to freeze around half of the affected assets, helping limit the impact. Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies therefore fell less sharply than initially feared.
Since November 1, Binance customers have been able to make withdrawals again, although the first phase is limited to major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin.
The exchange reported significant outflows during the first hours after trading was reopened, but said a broad run on its reserves had not occurred. Withdrawals totaled $4.65 billion, compared with deposits of just over $1 billion. This resulted in a net outflow of approximately $3.6 billion, equivalent to 2.1% of the $171 billion in assets Binance manages.
To reinforce customer confidence, Binance plans to publish an updated proof of reserves on November 2. The document is intended to show whether the exchange’s customer balances are fully backed by assets held in its wallets.
Binance said it has so far covered 95% of the stolen $6.3 billion. The remainder consists of less liquid assets that may take longer to obtain. The company also said it had set aside approximately $6.34 billion internally to cover the losses and has around 335 million users.
Sources: t3n.