Binance Resumes Phased Withdrawals After $6.3 Billion Breach, 95% of Assets Covered

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced early on Sunday that it has begun allowing withdrawals in a phased process, following a $6.3 billion breach that led the company to freeze all deposits and withdrawals. In its latest update, Binance stated it has now covered 95% of the stolen assets and is actively working to acquire the "remaining affected assets," which are less liquid in the market and require more time to source at the necessary scale.

Binance reiterated its commitment, affirming that "Binance will bear the financial impact of the stolen funds," and these losses "will not be passed on to users." The company acknowledged the significance of reliable access to withdrawals for its users, explaining that the freeze was a "necessary precaution" while its teams contained the incident, assessed its impact, restored services, and completed security checks.

The resumption of withdrawals is occurring in phases, depending on the network and asset type. As of Sunday morning, Binance's network status page indicated a mix of normal, partially suspended, and fully suspended statuses. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals and deposits are still listed as partially suspended, while Ethereum deposits are normal, but withdrawals remain partially suspended. Users should anticipate "temporary delays or longer processing times due to traffic volume."

Binance described resuming withdrawals as a "major milestone" but emphasized that its work is ongoing, with continued efforts to strengthen safeguards, complete the recovery process, and provide updates. The company also plans to publish a more in-depth incident report once its investigation is complete. Previously, Binance had attributed the breach to North Korean hackers. On Saturday, the FBI confirmed a North Korean group known as TraderTraitor was responsible, noting that the group was primarily converting the stolen assets into Ethereum, with further laundering activities likely.

What to watch: Further updates on recovery of less liquid assets and the full incident report from Binance.

Editor's note: The article effectively summarizes the recovery status and the phased nature of the withdrawal resumption, correctly attributing the breach to North Korean actors.