Binance Flips Withdrawals Back On After Massive Hack, Starting With Six Chains

Binance is switching withdrawals back on. The exchange said the rollout began at 05:00 CET on Thursday and will expand progressively across additional digital assets after a security incident. Fair warning: high demand could mean delays, so pack patience along with your private keys.

The restart covers six blockchain networks: Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Base, Tron, Polygon and Sui. That's a wide footprint, and it means users on some of crypto's busiest rails are the first to get moving again.

Binance had already signaled this was coming. The exchange said it would resume withdrawals for more networks and assets as the next phase of its recovery, and that it had covered roughly 95% of the impacted amount. The leftover 5% is the sticky part — tokens that are less liquid and, in Binance's words, take longer to source at the required scale. The company has said it will absorb the financial hit from the stolen funds.

The FBI has blamed the attack on TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group, according to Breaking The News. The figure attached to the breach: $6.3 billion, making it one of the largest crypto heists ever recorded.

Pyongyang isn't taking that quietly. Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called the allegations against her country 'absurd rhetoric,' describing the accusation as a grave political provocation, according to the BBC. Expect the finger-pointing to outlast the withdrawal queues.