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Binance begins phased withdrawals after $6.3B hack

Binance is preparing to reopen withdrawals in phases after a $6.3 billion hack, saying it has covered about 95% of the affected assets with company funds.

The Today Crypto Editors

Binance begins phased withdrawals after $6.3B hack

After hackers drained about $6.36 billion from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, the exchange said it would begin restoring withdrawals in phases on Nov. 1. The Associated Press reported the scale of the theft, which blockchain firms have described as the largest crypto heist on record.

For Binance users, access to funds is returning asset by asset, while the exchange says it will cover the loss.

Which withdrawals are reopening first?

Binance’s recovery update says phase one is scheduled to start between 06:00 and 09:00 UTC on Nov. 1. It lists withdrawals on Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Tron, Solana, XRP, Zcash, Dogecoin, TON, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism and Sui networks.

The exchange says listed assets will return progressively as each network and asset pair passes readiness checks. Availability may vary, and Binance warns users to expect delays or longer processing times as traffic rises. Deposits remain open, according to the notice.

Who bears the loss, and what is still unknown?

Binance says it will absorb the financial impact rather than pass losses to users. In its Nov. 1 update, the company said it had covered about 95% of the impacted amount using company resources; the remaining 5% consists of tokens outside its top 10 that are less liquid and take longer to source.

The exchange also said balances in BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and ZEC are fully backed. Its update does not give a completion date for restoring every withdrawal or for replacing all affected assets. Binance says it is continuing to buy the remaining tokens through market and over-the-counter channels and plans to publish a post-incident report after its investigation.

What does the pause mean for users?

Users who need to move funds should check the withdrawal page or Binance’s network status page for their specific asset and network before submitting a request. A listed asset may not yet be available while the phased rollout and security checks continue.

The theft itself unfolded in about 20 minutes, according to TRM Labs as cited by AP. Binance says it worked with partners to freeze assets and is continuing efforts to trace and recover funds; the exchange has not yet published its full post-incident account.

Sources