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Binance recorded $3.64 billion in net outflows after reopening withdrawals on Sunday following a $6.3 billion hack, as customers rushed to move funds off the platform. The exchange processed $4.65 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits between 6 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. UTC on Nov. 1, Binance stated in a post on X.
Withdrawal Volumes and Platform Recovery
The resulting net outflows represented 2.1% of Binance’s $171 billion in total assets, based on its latest available proof-of-reserves data as of Oct. 28. Binance stated that withdrawal volumes had declined and were stabilizing following an initial spike, while deposit volumes remained substantial.
The exchange began restoring withdrawals in phases at 6 a.m. UTC on Sunday, with services resuming across all 15 networks and assets included in the initial phase by 12:36 p.m. UTC. The company explained that testing was continuing for the remaining networks and assets.
Asset Freezes and Leadership Response
A spokesperson for stablecoin issuer Circle told US Top News and Analysis in an email that “Circle activated its incident response procedures and coordinated with law enforcement to freeze more than $1.1 billion in USDC associated with the incident.” The company added that the investigation is ongoing. The updated figure followed a Friday post from Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, who said at the time that more than $800 million in USDC linked to the incident had been frozen.
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao sought to reassure users following the breach, writing on X that “98% choose to stay!” He mentioned that most of the net outflows occurred within the first couple of hours after withdrawals resumed. “Trust isn’t earned by what you say in good times. It’s earned by what you do in hard times,” Zhao added.
FBI Attribution and Financial Impact
The withdrawals followed a record $6.3 billion hack of Binance last week. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korean hackers, identifying the operation as TraderTraitor. The exchange has stated it would absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds rather than pass the losses on to users.
Binance stated it had covered around 95% of the impacted amount, up from 90% in its previous update. The exchange noted that the remaining 5% consisted of less liquid tokens that would take longer to source in the quantities required.
