Binance has announced plans to fully restore withdrawal services by the end of next week, following a major security breach in October. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange revealed on November 14 that it had already reopened withdrawals for 87 networks and aims to complete the process for all remaining assets within seven days. This development comes after Binance covered 95% of the US$6.3 billion stolen in what experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
The hack, attributed to North Korea by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Binance, has been denied by Pyongyang. Blockchain investigation firms have linked the attack to a North Korean group known as “TraderTraitor”. Binance’s initial report detailed a multi-stage hacking operation that began in June, culminating in the theft on October 29. The incident has raised concerns about the security of digital assets and the potential impact on Binance, which has pledged to fully reimburse affected customers.
In related news, Binance’s finance chief, Kaiser Ng, resigned just over a week after the hack to pursue a new venture. He has been replaced by Justin Yek, formerly the vice-president of finance at Airwallex. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies have experienced significant volatility, with Bitcoin slumping to a four-month low. The largest digital asset fell 5.7% in the US on November 14 and continued to drop in Asia on November 15, reaching as low as US$62,112, its weakest since July 14. Ether, the second-biggest token, also declined, hitting US$1,711, its lowest since July 8.
The recent downturn in crypto markets has been fueled by several factors, including expectations of higher interest rates, large outflows from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, and the fallout from the Binance hack. Bitcoin has lost about 25% of its value since October 21, with large liquidation events becoming more frequent. On November 13, roughly US$1.3 billion in long crypto bets were liquidated over 24 hours, primarily in Bitcoin positions. In the 24 hours through 7am on November 15 in Singapore, exchanges recorded about US$2 billion of crypto liquidations, including US$774 million in Bitcoin and US$488 million in Ether.
From October 30 through November 13, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw almost US$3 billion in net outflows. Richard Galvin, executive chairman at crypto investment firm DACM, suggested that the impending initial public offering of artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC may be drawing capital away from crypto. He noted that the price performance resembles the period leading up to the SpaceX IPO earlier this year, indicating that crypto remains a short-term funding source for retail investors.