Binance has reopened withdrawals, days after being hit by what is described as the largest crypto theft ever. The exchange says it has covered 95 percent of the stolen funds, reopening withdrawals in phases, starting with bitcoin.
Binance was hit on October 29 by what is described as the largest crypto theft ever, with a confirmed loss of around $6.3 billion. The exchange halted withdrawals the same day and has since worked to secure the platform, carry out security reviews and replace the lost funds with its own capital. The first step of the reopening came on Sunday, November 1.
Binance says in an update posted on X that phase one of withdrawals resumed between 06:00 and 09:00 UTC on Sunday, November 1. Bitcoin was among the first withdrawals to go live, shortly after 06:00.
Phase one covers a wide range of the most used networks and tokens, with bitcoin among the first to open. Binance says the prioritization is based on users' withdrawal demand over the past week, and that more networks and tokens will be added as security checks are completed. Deposits have remained open throughout the incident and are unaffected.
Binance says it has covered around 95 percent of the affected amount through market purchases and OTC deals, up from 90 percent in the previous update. The remaining 5 percent consists of tokens outside the ten most traded, which are less liquid and take longer to source at the required scale.
The exchange also says all holdings in BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and ZEC are fully covered, pointing to an updated proof-of-reserves snapshot as confirmation.
Binance warns that users may experience delays during the initial rollout due to traffic volume, and asks them to try again after a short while if a withdrawal for a network or token on the list doesn't go through. The exchange says this is expected during a phased reopening, and that network and platform performance will continue to be closely monitored.
Binance stresses that the company is covering the full financial loss from the incident, and that user funds are safe. Updates on the remaining networks and tokens will be shared on an ongoing basis via the company's official X channel.
Sources: Binance (X)
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