Users pulled nearly $3.8 billion off Binance in roughly 10 hours after the exchange restarted withdrawals in phases. Withdrawals had been frozen since an October 29 breach that drained approximately $6.3 billion, and Binance says it has replenished around 95% of the affected assets.
Users withdrew nearly $3.8 billion from Binance in roughly 10 hours once the exchange reopened withdrawals on November 1, 2026. Binance had frozen them after attackers drained approximately $6.3 billion from its hot wallets on October 29.
Bitcoin and ether lead the phased restart
Binance put the biggest assets first. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, USDC and BNB were among the first tokens made available. Reuters reported that the first phase covers 15 crypto assets, including bitcoin, ether, XRP and dogecoin.
Deposits stayed active and unaffected throughout the incident, Binance confirmed.
Binance covers the losses itself
Binance has pledged to cover the losses. It said it would draw on its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), its futures insurance and its corporate treasury, with no costs passed on to customers.
Reuters reported that Binance said it had covered $6 billion of stolen cryptocurrencies by using company money to buy replacement tokens. The exchange said the remaining 5% consists of less liquid assets that may take longer to source.
Binance also worked to freeze nearly $3 billion of the affected assets, partnering with stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle. The exchange plans to publish an updated Proof of Reserves to help restore customer confidence.
FBI ties the attack to North Korea
The FBI said on Saturday that the North Korean unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the attack. Crypto Briefing noted that the same group was previously tied to the February 2025 Bybit breach, which saw around $1.5 billion stolen.
However, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was still not certain if North Korea was involved.
The next markers to watch are the updated Proof of Reserves, whether the remaining frozen assets are recovered, and whether outflows slow over the coming days.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, Investing.com (Reuters)
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