BBC News reports that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has covered 90% of the $6.3bn (£4.7bn) in assets stolen during a major hack on Thursday. The remaining 10% may require additional time to source in the necessary quantities, the company stated.
Binance has consistently committed to covering 100% of losses from what is suspected to be the largest cryptocurrency hack in history and indicated it has allocated more than $6.34bn in company funds to fulfil this obligation. The exchange said it would absorb the financial impact rather than passing losses to users, replenishing stolen assets through various funds and its own corporate treasury.
All holdings of bitcoin, ethereum, Tether and seven other widely-traded cryptocurrencies have been covered by the replacement funds. The company's immediate priority is resuming withdrawal services, with plans to reopen them on 1 November 2026, pending confirmation of final details.
How much has been frozen and recovered?
Binance initially froze approximately $3bn of stolen assets after coordinating with law enforcement and intelligence partners. However, CBC reported that the company subsequently updated the frozen amount to $5bn. Additionally, Dawn News noted that Tether froze nearly $1.57bn linked to the incident, while Circle froze more than $800m in related assets.
According to CBC, TRM Labs determined that approximately $6.36bn was transferred out of Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, with the majority of transfers occurring within roughly 20 minutes.
What was the method of the attack?
Binance's initial investigation suggested that an engineer's laptop was compromised, granting unauthorised access to withdrawal systems. However, a subsequent update revealed the company had identified additional breach points. The attack exploited a Binance-controlled, internet-connected wallet by manipulating its transaction approval system, rather than relying on a reported private-key leak, according to Dawn News.
Richard Teng, Binance's co-chief executive officer, stated that the hack was executed by multiple individuals who employed sophisticated methods to conceal their activities, including a
self-destruct mechanism. Binance confirmed it found no evidence that wallet private keys had been compromised, and that customer deposits remained unaffected.
Who is suspected of carrying out the theft?
Two major blockchain analytics firms have identified intelligence pointing to The Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-backed hacking operation also known as TraderTraitor, as the likely perpetrators. The Federal Bureau of Investigation previously attributed the $1.5bn theft from the Bybit exchange in 2025 to North Korea. North Korea has consistently denied involvement in such attacks.
The US Secret Service stated on Friday that it is
working around the clockwith private sector partners
to identify, freeze, trace, and recover fundsstolen from Binance.
What happens next?
Binance said it would publish a technical post-mortem following completion of the investigation and verification of facts. The exchange also committed to updating its proof of reserves after remediation is finished. Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which issued Binance's main operating licence, indicated it was closely monitoring the incident, according to Dawn News.
The investigation remains ongoing, with Dawn News reporting that rival crypto exchanges have moved to strengthen their security protocols and called for greater information-sharing among industry participants following the breach.
Key Facts
- Binance has covered 90% of the $6.3bn stolen, with the remaining 10% expected to take longer to source
- The hack is believed to be the largest in cryptocurrency history, surpassing the $1.5bn Bybit theft in 2025
- North Korean state-backed hackers are the suspected culprits, with approximately $6.36bn transferred across 10 blockchains in roughly 20 minutes
- Binance plans to reopen withdrawal services on 1 November 2026 and will publish a technical post-mortem after investigation completion
- Tether and Circle have frozen $1.57bn and $800m respectively in related assets, while frozen amounts have increased from $3bn to $5bn
