Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced on Thursday that it has fully covered the $6.34 billion in assets lost during the record-breaking hack on October 29. The exchange stated that these funds were replaced entirely with its own capital, allowing affected users to maintain their balances as withdrawals continue to reopen in stages.
How Binance replaced stolen funds
In its announcement, Binance clarified that “coverage” refers to the replacement of customer assets using internal funds, not the recovery of the hacked digital assets from those responsible for the attack. The exchange committed over $6.34 billion through market and over-the-counter purchases of the affected tokens, sourcing funds from three major company reserves: the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a portion of its futures insurance fund above required risk management levels, and its corporate treasury.
After drawing from SAFU, Binance has pledged to restore the fund to about $1 billion. This effort is intended to ensure SAFU remains adequately resourced as an emergency reserve for user protection.
A small number of delisted tokens were also impacted in the incident. Binance indicated those assets would be handled under its standard delisting process, with guarantees that current holders would not be left without coverage.
Binance explained it had “completed coverage of assets impacted in the security incident” following the hack, using a mix of company reserves to replace customer balances and restore platform stability.
Mini dictionary: Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) — Launched by Binance in 2018, SAFU is an emergency reserve designed to protect users in case of major security incidents. The fund is partly made up of trading fees and is kept in a separate cold wallet as a user-protection mechanism.
Expanded proof-of-reserves, but independent verification pending
Binance published a new proof-of-reserves snapshot at 00:00 UTC on November 12, covering 198 digital assets. This update significantly expanded the scope compared to the previous snapshot on October 31, which included just 10 tokens. The new data is now available on Binance’s proof-of-reserves portal, offering customers a more comprehensive look at asset coverage following the incident.
| Date | Number of Tokens Included |
|---|---|
| October 31 | 10 |
| November 12 | 198 |
While Binance stated that the snapshot “provides an updated view of assets that are fully accounted for,” customers currently cannot independently confirm this. The exchange reported that generating a corresponding zero-knowledge proof—a cryptographic method enabling users to verify holdings without revealing all transaction details—requires 40 to 50 hours of computation. Once available, affected users can independently validate that their assets are backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio.
Until the zero-knowledge proof is released, customers must rely on Binance’s assurance regarding the asset backing.
Mini dictionary: Zero-knowledge proof — A cryptographic method that allows individuals to prove knowledge of certain information without revealing the information itself. In crypto exchanges, it is used to verify user asset holdings without exposing sensitive data.
Withdrawals reopen gradually
Binance confirmed that full platform access is not yet restored. The exchange continues to reopen withdrawals in phases and will provide further details as individual networks and tokens become available. Since November 1, when withdrawals first resumed for bitcoin before extending to other assets, the process has followed a phased approach based on liquidity and internal risk assessments.
The company has not disclosed the amount of stolen assets, if any, that might have been recovered from the attackers. Thursday’s announcement focused exclusively on restoring customer balances, not asset retrieval. Binance had previously described the breach, which involved a compromised developer tool during a fraudulent job interview, as the largest crypto theft on record. The hack resulted in significant losses from hot wallets.
After initially pledging $6.34 billion to replace affected user assets immediately following the breach, Binance stated it had achieved 90% coverage as withdrawals reopened. This later increased to 95% and then 98%, with the remainder involving less liquid tokens. Thursday’s statement marks the first confirmation that all affected assets have now been fully covered by the company.
While Binance has secured user balances, it emphasized that the final proof for customers will arrive once the zero-knowledge verification is published, expected within two days, and as withdrawal queues clear for all impacted tokens.
Binance reiterated that platform security remains a core priority, with continued infrastructure upgrades underway following the incident.
