ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Binance has started allowing customers to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings in phases after hackers compromised digital assets worth approximately $6.3 billion in one of the largest cyber thefts involving a cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance said in a statement on Sunday that withdrawals were being restored progressively, with several major cryptocurrencies and a number of stablecoins, among the first assets made available to account holders.
The company said the first phase of withdrawals was scheduled to begin between 6am and 9am UTC on November 1, covering 15 blockchain networks and a range of digital assets.
These include Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Tron, Avalanche and stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
The restoration of withdrawal services follows a security breach on October 29, when hackers gained unauthorised access to Binance's hot wallets — digital wallets connected to the Internet and used to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions — resulting in the theft of approximately $6.3 billion worth of tokens.
Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals to contain the incident, assess the damage and conduct security checks on affected systems. The company said deposit services remained operational and were not affected by the incident.
In its latest statement, Binance said it had replenished approximately 95% of the assets affected by the breach, up from 90% in its previous update and 80% reported on October 30.
The remaining 5% consists of less liquid tokens that are taking longer to acquire in the quantities required, the company said. Binance is purchasing these assets through cryptocurrency markets and over-the-counter transactions to restore its holdings.
The exchange reiterated that customers would not bear the financial losses arising from the cyberattack.
"As we have said throughout this incident: user funds remain safe. Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not our users," the company said.
Binance said balances of major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, BNB, Solana, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and Zcash, were now fully backed at 100%.
Customers can verify the backing of their holdings through the company's Proof of Reserves system, which provides information about the digital assets held by the exchange against customer balances.
Explaining the phased restoration of withdrawals, Binance said it was giving priority to cryptocurrencies based on customer demand recorded over the past week.
"We are taking a phased approach by prioritising tokens based on the past week data of user demand, so that each network and asset pair can be restored carefully, with stability and security checks completed before access is reopened," Binance said.
Additional cryptocurrencies and networks will be added as they complete the necessary checks.
The company cautioned that users could experience temporary delays or longer processing times during the initial restoration because of transaction volumes. Customers have been advised to check the availability of their selected assets and networks before initiating withdrawals.
Binance said it was closely monitoring network and platform performance as services resumed.
In its earlier statement on October 30, the exchange said it had taken steps to contain the compromised infrastructure, revoked affected authorisations and introduced additional controls to prevent further unauthorised activity.
The company also disclosed that approximately $3 billion worth of stolen assets had been frozen on blockchain networks through cooperation with law enforcement agencies, blockchain intelligence companies, asset issuers and other industry participants.
Its initial investigation suggested that a compromised laptop might have been involved in the breach, but subsequent investigations identified additional points of intrusion.
Binance said it had found no evidence that wallet private keys had been leaked, although investigations into the full sequence of the attack were continuing.
The exchange has committed to covering the stolen assets through its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and corporate treasury, while continuing efforts to trace and recover the stolen funds.
Binance said it would publish a detailed report after completing its investigation, including the circumstances of the breach, the lessons learned and additional security safeguards.
"Resuming withdrawals is a major milestone, but our work continues," the company said, adding that it would continue strengthening security measures, completing the recovery process and providing updates to customers.