Binance says $6.3bn hack drained wallets; withdrawals paused

Binance said Friday, Oct. 30, that attackers drained about $6.3 billion from its wallets, in a breach blockchain firms described as the largest crypto theft on record; the exchange paused withdrawals while it investigates. The Associated Press report said Binance had reserved more than $6.34 billion to cover the stolen assets and was working to recover funds.

How did the attackers get in?

Binance said its initial investigation pointed to a compromised laptop, but later found additional “points of breach.” TRM Labs estimated that about $6.36 billion moved out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains, mostly in roughly 20 minutes, according to AP. TRM attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking unit; Binance said it was working with law enforcement to identify those responsible.

How much has Binance recovered or frozen?

Binance and its partners had frozen about $3 billion in affected assets, Reuters reported, with the status of the remaining $3.3 billion unclear. The exchange said user funds were safe and it would cover losses. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said the investigation was ongoing and that the attack involved complex tactics.

When will withdrawals resume?

Binance suspended withdrawals during security checks, while deposits were unaffected, AP reported. The exchange expected withdrawals to resume within a day or two, but had not announced a confirmed restart time. It said it would publish a technical post-mortem after verifying the facts.

Sources and documents

• Associated Press report — apnews.com