Binance Reopens Withdrawals After $6 Billion Crypto Heist

Overview

• Hackers moved more than $6 billion in multiple cryptocurrencies in roughly 20 minutes, forcing Binance to suspend customer withdrawals on Thursday.
• The FBI and blockchain-intelligence firms have attributed the operation to TraderTraitor, a North Korean-linked hacking unit, and warned the attackers are converting funds mainly into ether.
• On-chain tracing and custodial actions have frozen large sums related to the theft, including about $3 billion noted by Binance, nearly $1.6 billion frozen by Tether, and over $800 million blocked by Circle.
• Binance says it has recovered or reimbursed roughly 90–95% of affected assets using corporate cash, its SAFU emergency reserve and insurance, and has begun a phased restart of withdrawals for prioritized tokens and networks.
• The breach has heightened scrutiny of exchange security and possible use of AI in reconnaissance or social engineering, and investigators continue efforts to trace and prevent laundering through DeFi and instant-swap services.