Binance to resume withdrawals after recovering 95% of $6.3 billion crypto theft

Representative image

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has said it will resume withdrawals in phases after securing 95% of the $6.3 billion in digital assets stolen from its platform in what is being described as the world's largest cryptocurrency heist.The first phase of withdrawals will begin between 0600 and 0900 GMT on Sunday and cover bitcoin, ether, BNB, Solana, XRP, dogecoin and several other tokens, Reuters reported.The exchange said the remaining 5% of the stolen assets comprised less liquid tokens that could take longer to source in the required quantities.Binance announced the update in a post on X late on Saturday.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has attributed the cyberattack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking unit.The bureau said on Saturday that members of the group had been observed converting the stolen assets into Ethereum.

FBI links crypto heist to North Korean hacking unit

In a statement, the FBI identified TraderTraitor as responsible for the attack and said it expected further attempts to launder the stolen funds using related technology.The bureau also urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and other industry participants to block transactions associated with identified addresses to prevent the stolen money from being moved to conceal its origins.

The FBI said its investigation found that the hackers were converting the stolen assets primarily into Ethereum. It expects the group to attempt further conversions through decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant swap services.TraderTraitor has also been linked to a $1.5 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit last year.North Korea has for years denied using state-linked cyber units for espionage, financial theft and revenue generation.

Trump says investigators are still examining North Korea link

US President Donald Trump appeared to question whether North Korea's involvement in the Binance attack had been established.Asked about the incident by reporters at a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday night, Trump said, “I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea.”He added that investigators could still determine whether Pyongyang was responsible.Crypto expert Ari Redbord was quoted by news agency AP as saying that he expected the hackers to break the stolen assets into smaller amounts and attempt to move them through smaller exchanges to evade detection. The process could continue for months, he said.“It's bank robbery, in this case, at the speed of the Internet,” said Redbord, chief policy officer at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.He added that investigators could track the funds in real time to build cases, disrupt laundering attempts and potentially recover the assets.“It's just this cat and mouse game,” he said.

Binance promises customers full reimbursement

The theft took place on Thursday, when $6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currencies was stolen from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.The company said on Saturday that it had set aside enough of the same digital currencies to cover 90% of the missing assets and promised that customers would be fully reimbursed.Binance's latest update said it had now secured 95% of the stolen tokens, allowing it to begin restoring withdrawals in phases. The remaining assets are less liquid and may take longer to obtain in the required amounts.The FBI's warning about further laundering attempts comes as the exchange prepares to resume withdrawals for users affected by the incident.