Binance users have withdrawn more than $3.6bn (£2.7bn) in assets from the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange after it reopened on Sunday, following a record hack the previous week.
The company suspended all transactions after the incident, which affected digital assets worth $6.3bn. Major organisations, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have blamed North Korea for the cyberattack, which is cited as the largest hack in history.
Binance stated that it has covered about 95 per cent of the assets stolen in the breach, but that the remaining amount may take longer to locate. The company has repeatedly reiterated that it will cover all losses associated with the attack.
On the platform X, Binance posted that it had recorded an "initial spike" in withdrawals, which later subsided and is "stabilising as expected". It added that withdrawals for major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have continued, and that additional services will be restored in phases after security checks are completed.
The attack hit Binance's global centralised exchange, Binance.com, while its US-focused platform stated that it was not affected by the issue. Binance noted last week that early checks indicated the incident may have started with a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer, which allowed hackers to find a way to execute unauthorised transactions.
The withdrawn cryptocurrency represents only a fraction of the total value of assets held by Binance. The company reported in 2024 that it holds more than $160bn in assets in custody.
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets traded on exchanges like Binance. Unlike cash, cryptocurrencies do not exist in physical form and are managed on computers, smartphones and other digital devices. Binance was founded in China and has hundreds of millions of registered users worldwide.
