Binance investigates breach and targets Sunday restart after record exploit

Investigators have tied a massive breach of Binance to North Korea after attackers compromised hot-wallet signing infrastructure, The Block reported. Multiple news outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC, and The New York Times, reported that hackers stole 6.3 billion dollars in the exploit. Binance has suspended withdrawals and frozen assets in response to the heist, according to reports from The New York Times and the Daily Times. [1][6][8][9][10]

Binance chief executive officer Richard Teng said that hackers erased evidence and bypassed security checks during the attack, CoinDesk reported. CoinDesk and Cryptonews.net both reported that Binance uncovered multiple breach points and a wider breach during its investigation. Binance plans to publish its proof of reserves on Monday, CoinDesk reported. [3][4][5]

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said investigators identified thousands of rapidly executed transactions, according to CryptoSlate. CryptoSlate reported that the attackers deployed previously unseen automated wallet loops, rapid conversions into other cryptocurrencies, and repeated one TRX transfers to obscure the stolen funds. [2]

Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017. As FTMQ Crypto reported earlier, attackers targeted Binance in the record exploit on Thursday. Binance is currently targeting a Sunday restart for customer withdrawals, Cryptonews.net and CoinDesk both reported. [3][4][5][13][15]