Digital cash register collapse: Binance releases customer payouts after hacker attack

After the unprecedented cyber attack on the world's largest digital currency exchange Binance, the company has begun re-enabling customer payouts in an initial phase. As Binance announced on the online platform X, the company released crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Dogecoin, among others.

The company has now covered 95 percent of the stolen sum totaling $6.3 billion - previously it was said to be 90 percent. The remaining five percent would consist of less liquid assets that could take longer to procure in the required quantities. Binance said it had set aside around $6.34 billion in its own funds internally to cover losses.

In order to restore customer confidence, Binance announced that it would provide an updated proof of reserves tomorrow, Monday. With this cryptographic process, users can mathematically check whether their individual account balances are actually deposited one-to-one with real holdings in the company wallets.

If the platform's information is confirmed, the largest hacker attack in crypto history, with damage totaling more than six billion dollars (around 5.4 billion euros), would end lightly for customers: Since the exchange apparently completely compensates for the billions in losses itself, investors were spared direct total losses or forced asset cuts.

The US Federal Police FBI blames a state-backed North Korean hacker group called “TraderTraitor” for the cyber attack. Investigators observed how members of the group exchanged the loot for the cryptocurrency Ether, the authority said on Saturday. The FBI expects further money laundering operations.

However, US President Donald Trump was more reserved on Saturday. It is not yet certain whether North Korea was involved in the incident, Trump told reporters. If this is the case, we will discuss it with the government in Pyongyang. For years, North Korea has denied allegations of using state cyber units for espionage or financial theft.

The majority of the theft took place in about 20 minutes late Thursday. According to co-chief executive Richard Teng, it was a complex attack in which the perpetrators gained access via a hacked laptop and used malware to cover up tracks. According to the company, freezing affected assets helped limit the damage. Binance and its partners had blocked around three billion dollars by Friday.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao thanked the US authorities on X for their assistance in tracking and freezing the assets. They contributed significantly to ensuring that the Bitcoin price did not collapse more sharply after the attack. The crypto exchange has around 335 million registered users worldwide and, according to its annual report for 2025, managed assets of $162.8 billion.