Binance CEO Yi He said on Friday, October 30, that the exchange’s own crypto holdings already match most of the tokens affected by its security incident, so only a small portion needs to be bought through on-exchange and off-exchange channels. The incident involved about $6.3 billion in assets, she said, and about $3 billion has been frozen with help from industry partners. Binance will use its own funds to match the affected assets in full.
Most Affected Tokens Already Covered
Yi He explained that Binance’s daily revenue and assets are held mostly in crypto, matching the majority of the tokens taken. That means Binance does not need to put the full $6 billion-plus into the market to buy new tokens. The exchange said earlier that $5 billion of its $6.34 billion reserve is already held in the exact tokens affected. Yi He thanked industry partners for their help in freezing assets.
Withdrawals to Resume Within 42 Hours
Withdrawals, paused for nearly a day to protect remaining assets, are expected to resume within the next 42 hours, Yi He said. The team is rebuilding the security environment and wallet settings and conducting security reviews. Withdrawals will reopen only once the environment is confirmed secure and user assets are protected.
Proof of Reserves Update Coming
Binance will update its Proof of Reserves in the coming days so users can verify their assets, Yi He said.
Investigation and Next Steps
The security and technology team’s review so far shows the incident was a complex, multi-faceted attack, Yi He said, and Binance will proceed with extra caution. The exchange plans to publish a detailed technical security audit report and invite industry participants to help build shared security standards. Yi He said Binance will not stop pursuing the attackers, and will work with law enforcement worldwide to investigate the attack team and trace the stolen funds, while increasing its investment in security.