Binance sees $4.7 billion in withdrawals after heist raises security concerns, Pg2

Key Highlights:

• Customers have withdrawn a net $4.72 billion from Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, since it reopened withdrawals after the hack.
• Hackers stole around $6.3 billion of crypto from the platform in what could be the largest financial heist in history.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the theft was carried out by North Korea; withdrawals were frozen for about 48 hours and resumed on Sunday.
• Net outflows were about 3% of assets on the platform, most in Tether's USDT stablecoin; Binance has vowed to repay customers in full.
• Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said North Korea-linked hackers have stolen $7.4 billion so far in 2026.

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Detailed Insights:

• The theft occurred on or about October 29; the FBI tracks this North Korean cyber activity as TraderTraitor, saying stolen assets are being converted mainly into Ether.
• North Korea denied involvement through state media, calling the US attribution a "grave political provocation."
• Elliptic put the stolen amount at $6.43 billion and said about $2.85 billion has been frozen or seized, including stablecoins frozen by issuers such as Tether and Circle.
• Elliptic said the laundering is slower than after the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, when North Korean hackers moved all the stolen ether within 10 days.
• Binance said it has covered about 95% of the affected amount and is working with partners to source the remaining less-liquid tokens.
• The outflow compares with about $7 billion withdrawn from Circle's USDC after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023, and about $6 billion of Binance net outflows after the FTX collapse in 2022.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Cryptocurrency exchange: An online platform where users buy, sell and store digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.
• Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency pegged to a reserve asset, usually the US dollar, such as USDT and USDC.
• Blockchain analytics: Tracing transactions on public blockchain ledgers to follow the movement of stolen funds.
• DeFi laundering: Converting stolen crypto through decentralised finance and instant-swap services to hide its origin.