Binance Loses $3.6B in Withdrawals After $6.3B Crypto Hack
Investors pulled $3.6 billion from Binance following a record $6.3 billion theft, with experts pointing to North Korea as the likely culprit.
Investors withdrew $3.6 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance in the aftermath of a record-breaking hack that saw $6.3 billion stolen from customer accounts, marking what analysts have described as the largest heist in history.
The theft occurred on Thursday, prompting Binance to temporarily restrict withdrawals before restoring access to customer funds. The platform's decision to resume withdrawals did little to stem the outflow, as users moved quickly to pull capital from the exchange amid uncertainty over the platform's security posture.
Read more Binance Sees $3.64 Billion in Withdrawals After Resuming Transactions →
Cybersecurity experts identified North Korea as the probable source of the attack, a conclusion consistent with a pattern of state-sponsored cryptocurrency theft that Western governments have previously attributed to Pyongyang. North Korean hackers have been linked to multiple high-profile digital asset thefts in recent years, with proceeds believed to fund the country's weapons programs.
The scale of the Binance breach sets it apart from prior incidents in the crypto industry. The $6.3 billion figure dwarfs previous notable exchange hacks, raising fresh questions about the resilience of centralized crypto platforms and the adequacy of existing security infrastructure at even the largest exchanges.
The episode is likely to intensify regulatory scrutiny of Binance, which has faced oversight challenges across multiple jurisdictions. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
