Binance users withdraw $3.6bn after record crypto hack

Binance customers withdrew a net $3.64bn (£2.72bn) of assets from the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange as it reopened on Sunday following a record hack last week.

The firm suspended all transactions after the incident, which affected $6.3bn in digital assets.

Major organisations, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have accused North Korea of being responsible for the cyber attack, which is said to be the largest hack in history.

The company said it has covered around 95% of the stolen assets, but the remaining amount may take longer to source. Binance has repeatedly said it would cover all of the losses linked to the attack.

"Between 06:00 and 15:30 [GMT] on November 1, we processed $4.649 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits, resulting in a net outflow of approximately $3.64 billion," Binance posted on X.

There was an "initial spike" in withdrawals, which later declined and "are stabilising as expected", it added.

It also said withdrawals for more than two dozen major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, have resumed, and that more services will resume in phases once security checks are complete.

The attack on Binance has been attributed to TraderTraitor, a North Korean cybercrime group also known as the Lazarus Group, which stole a then-record $1.5bn from crypto exchange Bybit in 2025.

The FBI on Saturday published a list of cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to the group and urged industry partners to help by blocking transactions involving them.

The hack hit Binance's global centralised exchange, Binance.com, while its US-facing platform said it was not affected.

The exchange scrambled to urge cryptocurrency issuers to freeze affected assets.

Binance said last week that early checks suggest the incident may have started with a compromised engineer's laptop, allowing hackers to make unauthorised transactions.

The withdrawn crypto represents only a fraction of the total value of assets Binance holds.

Binance's exact valuation is unclear because the firm is privately held, though the company said in 2024 that it had more than $160bn in assets in its custody.

The firm said last week it has reserved more than $6.34bn to deal with ​the attack's fallout.

Binance said it replaced customers' assets through a combination of channels, including its corporate treasury and its futures insurance and emergency reserve funds.

"Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident," the firm said.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets traded on exchanges such as Binance. Unlike cash, they have no physical form and are managed on computers, smartphones, and other digital devices.

Binance was founded in China and has hundreds of millions of registered users globally.