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Binance co-CEO Richard Teng says fund and company money will cover hack losses
Binance paused all deposits and withdrawals after the theft, and about half of the stolen funds are now frozen.
This article is general information, not financial, investment or insurance advice. Check the details with a qualified adviser before you decide.
The cover promise
Binance's co-CEO Richard Teng said losses from the theft would be covered by the secure asset fund and company resources. [1] Binance says SAFU, plus company funds, will cover all losses. [2]
Binance suspended all deposits and withdrawals almost immediately after the theft. [3] Withdrawals remain paused until a security scan ends. [2]
How the attack worked
Early findings point to a hacked laptop belonging to a DevOps engineer. [2] That allowed the attacker to reach an internal service and send unauthorized withdrawals. [2]
Binance said it found no evidence of any wallet private key leak. [2]
TRM's analysis found the stolen funds were drained from Binance wallets across at least ten blockchains. [3] They were sent to multiple addresses controlled by a single attacker. [3]
What has been frozen
Crypto firms and Binance say they have so far been able to freeze around half of the stolen funds. [3] About half of the stolen assets were stablecoins that issuers including Tether, Circle, Ripple and World Liberty Financial have since frozen. [1]
Bitcoin and ether are a different case. [1] No centralized entity issues them, so no one can freeze those assets, according to ChainArgos general counsel Patrick Tan. [1]
The race to launder
Trace Finance CEO Bernardo Brites said the proceeds of such hacks can typically only be laundered in the first few hours. [1]
Chainalysis observed laundering patterns it had not seen before. [1] They include thousands of transactions suggesting automation is used to obscure the trail of funds. [1]
Several US blockchain analysis firms said the attack bears similarities to previous operations attributed to North Korean hackers. [1]
What it means for you
If you use Binance, deposits and withdrawals were suspended almost immediately after the theft. [3] Withdrawals remain paused until a security scan ends. [2]
Binance says SAFU plus company funds will cover all losses, and Teng said the same. [2][1] Cryptocurrencies fell on Friday and the total market value of stablecoins declined, suggesting investors were pulling money from digital assets. [1]
Sources
- Gone in 20 Minutes: How the Biggest Heist in Crypto History Unfolded - Carrier Management — Carrier Management
- North Korea Just Pulled Off the Biggest Crypto Heist in History, Draining $6.4 Billion From Binance in 20 Minutes — 24/7 Wall St.
- The $6.3 Billion Binance Hack Was Pulled Off in Just 20 Minutes — Wired
Written from the sources above and checked twice before publishing. How we work · Report an error
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