Before the official accusation, Binance announced that it had been the target of a cyberattack estimated at approximately $6.3 billion and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals. The company said that approximately $3 billion had been frozen on the blockchain to limit the damage, while Tether blocked around $1.6 billion and Circle announced the freezing of approximately $800 million. Binance stated that it would cover the losses and that users’ funds remained safe.
Meanwhile, US authorities examined whether the heist could be attributed to North Korean hackers, without there being an official attribution at that time. Binance said it was working with the FBI and the US Secret Service and that it had covered nearly 80% of the losses, allocating more than $6 billion from its own funds, while internal investigations had identified several access points and a self-destruct mechanism for erasing traces.
Later, Binance announced that it had recovered approximately 90% of the stolen assets, including by using the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), and stated that deposits and withdrawals were expected to resume after the procedures were confirmed.
