Binance users withdraw $3.6bn after record crypto hack

2026-11-02 01:15:25

Osmond Chia

Binance customers withdrew a net $3.64bn (£2.72bn) of assets from the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange as it reopened on Sunday following a record hack last week.

The firm suspended all transactions in the wake of the incident, which impacted $6.3bn worth of digital assets.

Major organisations, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have accused North Korea of being responsible for the cyber attack, which is said to be the largest hack in history.

The company said it has covered around 95% of the assets stolen in the breach, but that the remaining amount may take longer to source. Binance has repeatedly said it would cover all of the losses linked to the attack.

"Between 06:00 and 15:30 [GMT] on November 1, we processed $4.649 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits, resulting in a net outflow of approximately $3.64 billion," Binance posted on X.

There was an "initial spike" in withdrawals, which later declined and "are stabilising as expected", it added.

It also said withdrawals for more than two dozen major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have resumed and that more services will resume in phases once security checks are completed.

The attack on Binance has been attributed to TraderTraitor, a North Korean cybercrime group also known as the Lazarus Group, which stole a then-record $1.5bn from crypto exchange Bybit in 2025.

The FBI on Saturday published a list of cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to the group and urged partners in the industry to help by blocking transactions involving them.

The hack hit Binance's global centralised exchange, Binance.com, while its US-facing platform has said it has not been affected by the issue.

The exchange scrambled to urge cryptocurrency issuers to freeze affected assets.

Binance said last week that early checks suggest the incident may have started with a compromised laptop that belonged to an engineer, allowing hackers to find a way to make unauthorised transactions.

The crypto withdrawn represents just a fraction of the total value of assets held by Binance.

The exact valuation of Binance is unclear as the firm is privately held, though the company said in 2024 that it had more than $160bn in assets in its custody.

The firm said last week that it has reserved more than $6.34bn in funds, to deal with ​the fallout of the attack.

Binance said it replaced customers' assets using a combination of channels that include its corporate treasury and its futures insurance and emergency reserve funds.

"Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident," the firm said.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets traded on exchanges such as Binance. Unlike cash, they 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 globally.