BINANCE SAYS RESUMING WITHDRAWALS AFTER MAJOR HACK

Binance said on Sunday that it had begun restoring withdrawals following a major cyberattack affecting more than $6 billion in funds.

The cryptocurrency exchange reopened withdrawals on the Bitcoin network first, with other services expected to return in stages.

Binance said the phased approach would allow it to complete security and stability checks before reopening each network and asset pair. The order of restoration would also reflect recent customer demand.

The company had suspended withdrawals after the attack. On Saturday, it said it had set aside more than $6.34 billion of its own funds to cover losses.

“Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not our users,” the company stated, while maintaining that customer funds remained safe.

The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea, identifying the Pyongyang-linked group TraderTraitor as responsible, according to the report.

The incident has been described as potentially the largest cryptocurrency theft to date. News of the attack contributed to sharp falls in major cryptocurrency prices on Friday.

Binance’s announcement marks the start of withdrawal restoration rather than a return of all services. The supplied report did not specify when every supported network would reopen.