Binance Reports $6.3 Billion Cryptocurrency Theft, Says $6 Billion in Assets Recovered

A record $6.3 billion worth of digital assets has reportedly been stolen from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. Following one of the largest cyberattacks of all time, Binance said it had already managed to repurchase tokens worth a total of $6 billion using its institutional funds to replenish affected customers' deposits.

Cyberattack and US Investigation Findings

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has officially confirmed that the notorious North Korean state-sponsored hacking group ‘TraderTraitor’ was behind the attack.

According to law enforcement agencies, the hackers are attempting to launder the stolen assets by converting them into the cryptocurrency Ethereum. However, North Korea has consistently denied allegations of state involvement in such cyber heists.

Binance's Response and Protection of Customer Funds

Binance has said that the impact of the attack will not fall directly on ordinary customers and that the company itself will bear the entire financial loss resulting from the theft. The remaining 10 percent of the stolen assets are taking slightly longer to recover because of their relatively lower liquidity.

Yi He, the company's co-CEO, said that to cover the cryptocurrency losses, Binance had primarily used 50 percent of its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), which is reserved for customer protection, along with its own Futures Insurance Fund. However, the SAFU fund will soon be replenished and restored to $1 billion.

With assistance from industry partners, approximately $3 billion worth of the stolen assets has already been frozen. Binance officials said that withdrawal facilities for suspended deposits would be restored soon, following the necessary technical security checks.

//DBTech/BMT/OR//