Binance Discovers Broader Breach in $6.3 Billion Hack, Plans to Resume Withdrawals
Written with artificial intelligence.
Binance has revealed that the recent $6.3 billion hack involved multiple security breaches, surpassing initial concerns about a compromised employee laptop. Co-CEO Richard Teng announced plans to restore withdrawals by Sunday while the exchange investigates the attack and works with law enforcement.
Investigation Uncovers Additional Breaches
Binance's ongoing investigation into the significant $6.3 billion hack has identified further security breaches beyond the initially suspected compromised employee laptop. Co-CEO Richard Teng detailed the attack's complexities, stating that hackers employed a self-destruct mechanism to erase evidence and exploited Ethereum's EIP-7702 account-delegation feature to gain unauthorized control of a hot wallet.
Withdrawal Resumption Plans
Currently, Binance has paused all withdrawals as it rebuilds and tests its infrastructure. Teng expressed optimism about resuming withdrawals by Sunday, approximately 40 hours from now. The exchange is thoroughly reviewing its cloud systems, employee devices, private-key management, and transaction-signing protocols.
Commitment to Cover Losses
Teng reiterated Binance's commitment to cover the entire $6.3 billion in losses using company funds. The exchange has set aside more than $6.34 billion, which includes $5 billion in the affected cryptocurrencies. The remainder is being procured through exchanges and over-the-counter markets.
Ongoing Efforts and Proof of Reserves
The attack specifically targeted Binance's own hot wallet rather than customer funds. However, an investigation revealed that the compromised wallets were part of the assets backing customer balances. Binance plans to release an initial proof-of-reserves update before a comprehensive report on Monday and is collaborating with law enforcement and blockchain investigators to recover the stolen assets.