What happened
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, began bringing withdrawals back in stages on Sunday, 1 November 2026. According to reports in Reuters, Times of India and Mint, it has now replaced or secured 95% of the $6.3 billion worth of tokens taken from it on Thursday.
The first phase covers 15 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ether, XRP and dogecoin, Mint reported. Bitcoin withdrawals restarted shortly after 0600 GMT. Other affected assets are due to follow in later stages.
The last 5% is made up of less liquid tokens, meaning they are harder to buy in large quantities quickly. Binance said sourcing them may take more time.
How Binance covered the loss
Binance said it bought replacement tokens with its own money, drawing on its SAFU reserve, its Futures insurance fund and its corporate treasury. SAFU is a reserve the exchange keeps to protect customers after security breaches. Mint reported that Binance had earmarked about $6.34 billion of its own funds.
The exchange said it froze withdrawals as a precaution while it contained the damage and ran security checks. It has said customers will not be made to absorb the loss, and it plans to publish a report once its investigation is complete.
What it means for you
If you hold crypto on Binance, the company says customers will be fully reimbursed and withdrawals are returning in stages, with major tokens first. Check which assets are live before attempting a transfer, as other tokens are still to be restored.
Background
The FBI has pinned the breach on TraderTraitor, a hacking unit sponsored by North Korea’s state, and said its members were converting the stolen assets into Ethereum. It expects more laundering attempts through decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms and instant swap services. It also asked exchanges and analytics firms to block transactions tied to identified addresses. North Korea has for years denied using state-linked cyber units for financial theft.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, “We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” according to Times of India.
TraderTraitor has also been linked to a $1.5 billion hack of Bybit last year. Mint noted that WazirX also lost $235 million in an earlier attack.
