Binance to resume crypto withdrawals in phases after record $6 billion hack - Yahoo Finance Australia

The exchange said the first phase would run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Singapore time on November 1, with additional cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks restored after security and stability checks.

Binance said it would prioritize assets based on customer withdrawal demand over the previous week, allowing services to resume gradually rather than reopening all transactions simultaneously.

The announcement follows a breach disclosed Thursday that prompted Binance to halt withdrawals early Friday in Asia.

The stolen assets included Bitcoin, Ether and dollar-backed stablecoins USDT and USDC.

North Korea-linked group behind attack

The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor hacking group, which was previously linked to the $1.5 billion theft from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit in 2025.

Fellow co-CEO Yi He indicated that Binance's annual revenue would be sufficient to absorb the financial impact.

The exchange holds approximately $135 billion in assets, significantly exceeding the roughly $29 billion held by rival OKX, according to DefiLlama.

Binance also maintains its Secure Asset Fund for Users, established in 2018 to protect customers during exceptional incidents. The emergency reserve has typically been maintained near $1 billion.

Investigation and industry impact

Investigators are examining a potentially compromised software engineer's laptop and other possible entry points, although Binance said it had found no evidence that private wallet keys were exposed.

Bitcoin traded near $77,700 on Sunday, approximately 5% below its Thursday high before the attack, as major cryptocurrencies showed relatively limited price movements.

The incident has intensified scrutiny of cryptocurrency security amid concerns that hackers are increasingly using artificial intelligence for reconnaissance and social engineering.