Key Takeaways
- Deposits and withdrawals were suspended during security checks.
- Binance said about $3 billion had been frozen onchain so far.
- The company pledged to cover losses with its user protection fund and corporate funds.
Initial Findings Point to Possible Laptop Compromise
Binance released its first detailed findings on the estimated $6.3 billion hack on Oct. 29, pointing to a possible employee laptop compromise and reporting no evidence of a wallet private key leak.
In its preliminary investigation findings, the company stated: “Binance’s initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.”
On wallet credentials, the exchange stated:
“We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak.”
Asset Freezes Reach $3 Billion as Binance Pledges Coverage
The preliminary account followed hours of scrutiny after analysts detected billions of dollars leaving its wallets, and founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) described an apparent Binance hack.
Earlier wallet analysis and asset freezes came as analysts tracked as much as $5.8 billion in potentially compromised assets. Binance subsequently provided its own assessment:
“The estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B. We have worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with ~$3 billion frozen on-chain so far.”
Binance said it engaged law enforcement and blockchain intelligence partners to trace and recover funds. Its teams were also working with authorities to confirm the attackers’ identities and bring them to justice. The frozen amount represents restricted assets, not a confirmed total returned to the exchange.
The coverage pledge named the Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU: “Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and the company’s funds. User funds are safe.” A SAFU conversion into bitcoin began in February under a plan to shift $1 billion in stablecoin reserves.
Zhao acknowledged help from industry participants, including competitors, and described an overnight response involving hundreds of employees. He stated: “It hurts, but we will survive.”
Withdrawal Restart Depends on Security Scan
Deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended while security checks continued, and Binance revoked the affected address authorization. Binance co-founder and co-CEO Yi He linked the resumption of withdrawals to the scan’s completion, stating: “We will enable withdrawals as soon as the security scan is complete.”
An updated disclosure through Binance’s proof of reserves system was promised after remediation. The company also committed to a detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation was complete and the facts fully verified, directing users to official channels for updates and customer support for further questions.
