Cryptoupdated 2h ago2 min read
Binance Replenishes 90% Of Stolen Crypto Assets, Targets November 1 Withdrawals
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Binance replenished 90% of $6.3 billion hack using treasury and SAFU assets. Withdrawals expected to resume on Sunday after replenishment progress.
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Binance covers 90%
Binance said on Saturday that it had replenished 90% of the stolen crypto assets in its latest security incident, and it said it would keep buying replacement tokens through market and over-the-counter channels until the covered amount reaches 100% for all tokens. Binance said the remaining 10% includes tokens outside the top ten cryptocurrencies, which it said are less liquid and may take longer to acquire in the required amounts.
Richard Teng, Binance’s co-CEO, said on X that "We've now replenished 90% of the stolen assets, and we're committed to covering the remaining 10%." Binance said it targeted Sunday, November 1, for reopening withdrawals and promised a further update "as soon as details are confirmed."
How the losses are covered
Binance said it tapped its corporate treasury to purchase billions of dollars in crypto from the market and private brokers, and it said it would allow withdrawals to begin again on Sunday. Cointelegraph said Binance was using a combination of its corporate treasury, a partial deployment of its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), and a portion of its futures insurance fund.
Binance said it would absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not users, and a spokesperson told Cointelegraph, "Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not users." Binance said it had set aside $6.34 billion to cover losses, including $5 billion in the affected cryptocurrencies, and it said industry partners froze about $3 billion in affected assets after the hack.
Proof, freezes, and next test
Binance said it published a new reserves snapshot and that the full cryptographic proof was still being generated, with its update stating, "The full zero-knowledge proof takes approximately 40 to 50 hours to generate due to the computational workload." Binance said it took a new Proof of Reserves snapshot at 00:00 UTC on October 31, and it said users holding the 10 listed tokens would be able to verify that their assets were backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio once the full proof was available.
The US Secret Service said on Friday it was "working around the clock" with private sector partners "to identify, freeze, trace, and recover funds" stolen from Binance, while Binance said it had frozen around $3bn of stolen assets after working with law enforcement and intelligence firms. Binance said it remained on track to resume withdrawal services on Sunday, November 1, within its previously stated timeframe, and it said the remaining shortfall consisted of less-liquid tokens that it continued to buy through market and over-the-counter transactions.