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Binance has announced plans to resume cryptocurrency withdrawals on Sunday, November 1, after a USD 6.3 billion security breach forced the exchange to suspend the service.
The world's largest crypto exchange said withdrawals would return in stages once its security teams completed system checks. Meanwhile, investigators have uncovered additional breaches beyond the initially suspected compromised employee laptop, raising further questions about how the attackers accessed Binance's infrastructure.
Binance confirmed on Friday that its technical team aimed to begin restoring withdrawals within roughly 34 hours. However, the exchange made the timeline conditional on completing security checks and testing its systems.
Deposits and other unaffected services remain operational. The company suspended withdrawals after attackers drained several hot wallets on October 29, taking cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, USDT and USDC.
Co-CEO Richard Teng said Binance would reopen withdrawals only after verifying its security controls. The exchange is also rebuilding affected infrastructure and reviewing its transaction approval systems before allowing users to move funds again.
Meanwhile, Binance plans to publish updated proof-of-reserves results on Monday, November 2. The report will show the exchange's cryptocurrency holdings and the assets backing customer balances.
Binance's initial investigation pointed to a potentially compromised software engineer's laptop. Investigators suspected attackers had gained access to a service container and used it to initiate unauthorized withdrawals.
However, Teng later confirmed that investigators had discovered additional points of entry. He described the incident as a "complex attack" and said the exchange had not established the complete sequence of events.
According to reports, the attackers used Ethereum's EIP-7702 delegation feature to obtain control over a hot wallet without following Binance's normal approval process.
Teng also said the attackers used a mechanism that erased some tools and transaction traces, making the investigation more difficult.
Nevertheless, Binance maintained that it had found "no evidence" of leaked wallet private keys. The company expects to release more technical findings after investigators verify the details.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are involved in the response to the Binance hack. According to reports, the FBI confirmed it was coordinating with government agencies and private companies to examine the theft.
Binance has also committed more than USD 6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses. Of that amount, USD 5 billion is already held in the cryptocurrencies affected by the attack, while the exchange continues purchasing the remaining assets.
Separately, Binance reported that around USD 3 billion in stolen assets had been frozen through cooperation with stablecoin issuers and blockchain investigators. However, frozen funds have not necessarily returned to the exchange.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs attributed the attack "with high confidence" to North Korea's TraderTraitor group, which investigators previously linked to the Bybit hack. Binance has not publicly confirmed the attackers' identities.
The exchange plans to release a detailed incident report after completing its investigation. Its immediate priorities remain restoring withdrawals, replacing stolen assets and tracing the funds that have not yet been recovered.
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