Binance resumes bitcoin, ether withdrawals after covering bulk of stolen $6.3 billion

The heist, which analysts believe may be the biggest financial robbery ever, adds to a string of recent crypto thefts. Last year, attackers stole $2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks, according to researchers at TRM Labs.

Binance, which was founded in China, said the first phase of withdrawals would cover 15 crypto assets including bitcoin, ether, XRP and dogecoin. Bitcoin withdrawals resumed shortly after 0600 GMT, while ether, BNB and some USDT and USDC stablecoin withdrawals were also restored.

Binance said it had covered $6 billion of stolen cryptocurrencies by using company money to buy replacement tokens. The remaining 5% of stolen tokens consist of assets that are less liquid and may take longer to source in the required amounts, according to the exchange.

Binance vows to bear financial costs

Binance has been working with industry partners to freeze some of the affected assets, with about $3 billion located as of Friday, it said.

The exchange has repeatedly said it would bear the financial impact of the funds stolen in the hack. It has set aside around $6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses.

The money spent buying replacement tokens came from Binance's $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a bitcoin reserve it holds to protect customers in the event of security breaches, as well as some of its Futures Insurance Fund and its corporate treasury, it said on X.

Co-CEO Yi He said on Saturday that 50% of its SAFU funds would be used, while the company committed to replenishing the fund to about $1 billion.

Richard Teng, the other co-CEO, has said 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.

Crypto prices fell on Friday, while Binance sought to reassure customers that their funds were safe after the hack.

Binance, which allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets, has 335 million registered users globally and had about $162.8 billion in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report.