Binance covers 90% of $6.3bn in hack losses — SkimNews
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- Binance says it has covered 90% of the $6.3bn (£4.7bn) stolen in Thursday's hack, including holdings of bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether plus seven other widely-traded assets, replenished from various funds and its own corporate treasury; the remaining 10% may take longer to source in the required amounts.
- Binance has set aside more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the losses and says it will 'absorb the financial impact of these stolen funds, not our users' — a pledge it has consistently made since the hack.
- Binance restored withdrawals on several of its networks on Sunday after suspending them following the hack, having previously said withdrawals would resume in phases.
- FBI said on Saturday that North Korea was responsible, specifically naming the state-backed hacking unit Lazarus Group, also known as TraderTraitor, and said it observed hackers converting stolen assets into Ethereum before moving them through decentralised finance and instant swap services.
- Richard Teng said the hack was carried out by more than one person using sophisticated methods such as a 'self-destruct mechanism'; Binance's initial investigation pointed to a compromised engineer's laptop, and a later update uncovered 'additional points of breach'.
- Trump said on Saturday night that the US is still unsure who the culprits are: 'We don't know if it's North Korea - but if it is, we'll talk to North Korea about it.'
- US Secret Service said it is 'working around the clock' with private sector partners to 'identify, freeze, trace, and recover funds', after Binance said on Friday it had frozen around $3bn of stolen assets while working with law enforcement and intelligence firms.
Why it matters: Binance is absorbing a $6.3bn hit from its own corporate treasury, with more than $6.34bn set aside and the remaining 10% still unsourced, rather than passing losses to users. The attribution gap is diplomatic too: Trump said the US does not know if North Korea is responsible, but 'we'll talk to North Korea about it.'
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