Binance Reopens Withdrawals After Record $6.3 Billion Hack: What’s Covered, What’s Still Frozen and Who the FBI Blames
Crypto traders waited days for this update. Binance began reopening withdrawals on Sunday after a record $6.3 billion theft froze access to funds, though the process is gradual and some networks remain restricted. Quick Facts What Binance Announced Binance said it will restore withdrawals step by step, depending on the blockchain network and the asset. It had frozen all deposits and withdrawals after the breach. In its update, the exchange said it did not take the freeze lightly and called it a precaution while teams contained losses, assessed damage, restored services and finished security checks. The company added that it expects temporary delays and slower processing because of high traffic. What’s Open and What Isn’t The status page showed a patchwork on Sunday morning: Users should check the official network status page before moving funds. Binance Says Users Won’t Pay for the Loss Binance has now covered 95% of the stolen assets and is working to buy the rest. Those remaining assets are less liquid and take longer to source at the needed scale. The company said it will absorb the financial impact itself and won’t pass the losses on to users. It also called the reopening a major milestone but said the work continues. Who Did It? The FBI Weighs In Binance earlier blamed North Korean hackers. On Saturday, the FBI stated that a North Korean group called TraderTraitor was responsible. The bureau said the group is converting the stolen funds mainly into Ethereum and that more laundering is likely. What Happens Next Binance promises more recovery updates and a detailed incident report once the investigation wraps up. Specific details about how the attackers got in haven’t been published. What It Means for Crypto Users What Readers Are Asking Are Binance withdrawals back? Partially, in phases that vary by network and asset. How much was stolen? About $6.3 billion. Will users lose money? Binance says it will bear the loss and won’t pass it on. Who is responsible? The FBI says North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. How much has been covered? 95%, according to Binance. What to Watch Next Look for full restoration of withdrawals, the final incident report, further FBI findings and any movement of the stolen funds. Source: TechCrunch
