Binance begins restoring withdrawals after multibillion-dollar hack

Binance began restoring cryptocurrency withdrawals in phases on 1 November, days after a major security incident prompted the exchange to suspend the service. In its recovery update, the company outlined a staged reopening subject to security checks rather than a single restart for every asset and network. The exchange said on 30 October that its initial investigation suggested a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop may have enabled unauthorized withdrawal transactions. That account was preliminary. Binance said it would cover losses using its SAFU reserve and company funds, while its investigation continued.

Blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs estimated that roughly $6.36 billion moved from Binance wallets across ten blockchains on 29 October. TRM said the estimate reflected the value at the time of the transfers and that stablecoin issuers and others had frozen a substantial portion. The firm attributed the attack to a North Korea-linked group; that is its assessment, and the investigation remains ongoing. Binance’s recovery timetable can change by asset and network. Users checking withdrawal availability should consult the exchange’s own current notices and be wary of unsolicited messages offering to restore access or recover funds.