Binance has covered 95% of the $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from its platform and begun restoring withdrawals in stages, according to Reuters, marking a significant development after a major security breach shook the exchange.
The update comes as the Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the theft to North Korean cyber actors.
The developments place customer protection, the restoration of services and efforts to trace stolen assets at the centre of the response.
Reuters reported on November 1 that Binance had resumed withdrawals for bitcoin, ether and certain stablecoins, with additional assets due to follow through a phased process.
The exchange said its initial reopening would cover 15 digital assets.
The remaining shortfall involved less-liquid tokens, which could take longer to obtain in sufficient quantities, according to an earlier Reuters report.
However, replacing missing assets with company resources is different from recovering those assets from the attackers.
In this regard, Binance said it had allocated more than $6.34 billion in company funds, including $5 billion already held in the affected cryptocurrencies.
The exchange identified its Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, and corporate treasury as sources of support.
It said its commitment was to absorb the financial impact of the incident rather than pass losses to users.
Binance also reported that approximately $3 billion had been frozen through cooperation with industry partners.
FBI Attributes Attack to North Korea
In an October 31 advisory, the FBI said North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or around October 29.
The bureau identified the activity as TraderTraitor. Working with the United States Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service investigators, it observed stolen assets being converted primarily into ether.
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Binance said it had contained compromised infrastructure, revoked affected authorisations and strengthened security controls. It also outlined plans for updated proof-of-reserves reporting and a technical review.
The company said its investigation had identified additional breach points beyond an initially suspected compromised laptop. Its October 30 statement reported no evidence that wallet private keys had leaked.
