Theft has underlined the vulnerability of digital assets to attacks

    • Binance resumed withdrawals in phases earlier in November, after covering 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion in tokens stolen from its platform.
    • Binance resumed withdrawals in phases earlier in November, after covering 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion in tokens stolen from its platform. PHOTO: REUTERS

    BINANCE said on Saturday (Nov 14) that it aims to reopen withdrawals for all remaining networks and assets by the end of next week, as operations normalise for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange after a security breach linked to North Korea saw US$6.3 billion stolen from the platform in October.

    “This week, we reopened withdrawals for 87 networks. We will aim to reopen withdrawals for all remaining networks and assets by the end of next week,” the company said in an X post.

    Binance resumed withdrawals in phases earlier in November, after covering 95 per cent of the $6.3 billion in tokens stolen from its platform in what experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency theft ever.

    The FBI and Binance have said North Korea was responsible for the Binance hack, but Pyongyang has denied that. Blockchain investigation firms have attributed it to a North Korean group known as “TraderTraitor”.

    In its initial report on how hackers pulled off the heist, Binance detailed a multi-stage hacking endeavour that began in June and set off a series of security breaches culminating in the theft on Oct 29.

    The theft has underlined the vulnerability of digital assets to attacks and raised questions about the impact of the hack on Binance, which has vowed to repay customers in full.

    SEE ALSO

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    The company’s finance chief Kaiser Ng left the company just over a week after the heist, to pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance. He was replaced by long-time finance executive Justin Yek, who was most recently vice-president of finance at Airwallex. REUTERS

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