Binance sees 5 trillion won flow out after withdrawals resume following an “8 trillion won hack” [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, was hit by a hack costing trillions of won, and signs emerged that trust in the exchange was beginning to erode. After it resumed deposits and withdrawals, nearly 5 trillion won flowed out of its accounts on a net basis in just half a day. Binance said in a notice posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it had resumed withdrawals in stages on the 1st, local time. It later disclosed that by 12:30 a.m. Korea time on the 2nd, it had processed $4.649 billion in withdrawals (about 6.2 trillion won) and $1.01 billion in deposits (about 1.3 trillion won), resulting in a net outflow of about $3.64 billion (about 4.85 trillion won). That amount was equivalent to 2.1% of its $171 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of the end of last month (about 223 trillion won).
Binance said on the 29th of last month that it had suffered a hacking attack in which $6.3 billion worth of crypto assets (about 8.4 trillion won) was withdrawn without authorization. It was the largest single hack in the history of crypto assets. The attack is believed to have exploited an engineer’s hacked laptop and vulnerabilities in the transaction approval system.
Binance suspended withdrawals after the hacking attack. It also said the company would bear the losses resulting from the hack.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said in a post on X, “We are taking a cautious approach to ensure services are restored securely,” adding, “Our commitment is clear: Binance, not our users, will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds.”
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement on the 31st of last month that North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor was behind the Binance attack. The FBI also identified TraderTraitor as a suspect last year when about $1.5 billion was stolen from Bybit, another cryptocurrency exchange. The FBI said it had detected signs that members of TraderTraitor were primarily converting the stolen crypto assets into Ethereum.

[email protected] Han Young-jun Reporter