Binance replenishes 90% of assets stolen in security incident

Binance Recovers Majority of Stolen Assets in $6.3 Billion Security Breach

Binance's Response and Recovery Efforts After Historic Hack

Extent of the Security Breach and Recovery

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Saturday it has been able to cover 90% of the amount stolen after a record $6.3 billion hack of its platform.

Outstanding Losses and Liquidity Challenges

The outstanding 10% consists of tokens that are less liquid, which means they may take longer to source in the required amounts, it said in a statement. 

Internal Funds and Asset Coverage

The exchange said it has set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses.

Protective Measures and Security Protocols

Deployment of SAFU Reserve

Binance said the replenishment involved a partial deployment of its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a bitcoin reserve it holds to protect customers in the event of security breaches.

Details of the Attack

Nature of the Breach

The company's co-CEO, Richard Teng, said ​on Friday that the breach was a "complex attack" involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to delete evidence of its activity, making it harder to trace and investigate.

Proof-of-Reserves and User Assurance

Snapshot of Assets and Verification

Binance also said it had taken a new snapshot of assets held on its platform as of 0000 GMT on October 31, as part of its proof-of-reserves process.

Token List and Asset Backing

Users holding the 10 listed tokens — BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD, and ZEC — would be able to verify that their assets were backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio once the full proof was available, it said.

Service Restoration Timeline

The exchange said it remained on track to resume withdrawal services on Sunday, November 1, within its previously stated timeframe.

Reporting Credits

(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier and Jan Harvey)