Binance Reports Coverage of 90% of Assets Following Massive $6.3 Billion Hack

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it has covered 90% of the assets stolen during a major security breach on Thursday, which is widely believed to be the largest crypto hack on record.

According to the company, the remaining 10% of the funds may take longer to source in the required amounts. Binance has maintained a pledge to cover 100% of user losses, stating it has set aside more than $6.34bn in corporate funds and treasury reserves to absorb the financial impact. Withdrawals on several affected networks have been restored in phases following a temporary suspension.

Investigation and Attribution

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) publicly stated that North Korea was responsible for the attack. US authorities reported observing stolen assets being converted into Ethereum, with expectations that the funds would be further laundered through decentralized finance and instant swap services.

Independent analytics firms previously indicated that the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-backed hacking unit also known as TraderTraitor, was the likely culprit. North Korea has consistently denied involvement in such cyberattacks.

Practical Implications and Security Updates

• User Protections: Binance reported that holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and seven other widely-traded assets are covered under its reimbursement plan.
• Asset Freezing: Law enforcement partners and private sector entities, including the US Secret Service, have been working to trace and freeze stolen funds, with Binance confirming about $3bn was frozen by Friday.
• Breach Vector: Initial company statements suggested a compromised engineer's laptop allowed unauthorized withdrawals, though subsequent updates noted additional points of breach and sophisticated methods used by the perpetrators.

Observers seeking to verify ongoing developments can monitor official updates directly from Binance's corporate communications channels, announcements from the FBI, or verified statements from law enforcement agencies involved in the ongoing investigation.