N Korea behind US$6bn crypto theft, FBI says

BINANCE HACK ATTACK: US President Donald Trump cast doubt on Pyongyang’s involvement, saying: ‘We’re learning about it. We don’t know if it’s North Korea’

Binance Holdings Ltd (幣安) yesterday said that it had resumed withdrawals after more than US$6 billion in virtual assets were stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange in a major hack the FBI said North Korea was responsible for.

Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. News of the hacking attack, which is thought to be the biggest-ever crypto heist, caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply on Friday.

The company has offered reassurances it would cover the losses from the attack, saying it has used company funds to buy tokens to replenish 90 percent of what was stolen.

The Binance logo and hacker code are pictured on Friday.

Photo: Reuters

Binance suspended user withdrawals after the attack, but said they would be resumed in phases, the first of which began yesterday.

“First batch network now opened in phase one of withdrawals,” the exchange posted on social media.

“We are taking a phased approach by prioritizing tokens based on the past week data of user demand, so that each network and asset pair can be restored carefully, with stability and security checks completed before access is reopened,” it said.