Binance says resuming withdrawals after major hack

WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) - Binance said Sunday that it had resumed withdrawals after a major hack that affected more than $6 billion in funds.

Binance, which is the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, had suspended user withdrawals after the attack.

"First batch network now opened in phase one of withdrawals is $BTC bitcoin network," Binance said on X.

The company said in an earlier update that it was preparing to resume the first phase of withdrawals between 0600 and 0900 GMT on Sunday.

"We are taking a phased approach by prioritizing 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," it said.

Binance said Saturday that it has set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover losses in the hack, which is thought to be the biggest-ever crypto heist.

"User funds remain safe. Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not our users," it said on X.

The FBI accused North Korea of being behind the attack on Saturday, confirming earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a Pyongyang-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.

The hack is the latest in a string of high-profile cyber thefts linked to North Korea, which has built a formidable hacking operation, generating funds believed to help finance its weapons program.

News of the cyberattack caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply on Friday.