After the theft of around US$6.3 billion, Binance customers withdraw US$4.7 billion

Binance customers have withdrawn $4.72 billion since the platform reopened, according to Money Times. The movement comes after a cyber attack that, according to the same publication, led hackers to steal around US$6.3 billion in cryptocurrencies. Times Brasil, citing DefiLlama, points to accumulated withdrawals of US$5.165 billion, equivalent to around R$28 billion.

Withdrawals were frozen for around 48 hours after the attack and were only released on Sunday, according to Money Times. After that, the exchange also started to allow withdrawals in five other currencies: dollar, United Arab Emirates dirham, Vietnamese dong, Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah, according to Times Brasil.

According to Money Times, Binance has committed to fully refunding customers. The same publication reports that the FBI attributes the attack to North Korea, an assessment that consulted analysts agree.

The problem was not restricted to Binance. In the early hours of Monday (2/11), Mercado Bitcoin recorded a security incident on one of its systems. In a statement published on X, the company states that there is no harm to customers or data leaks, according to InfoMoney. Still, withdrawals and deposits were temporarily suspended as a preventive measure, according to Money Times, which reports that the amount has not been officially disclosed. Unofficial trackers indicate around US$40 million moved. The attack on Mercado Bitcoin occurred about three days after the one that hit Binance, that is, less than a week later.

What is at stake goes beyond the two companies. In less than a week, two crypto platforms were exposed to security incidents, and the sequence puts the custody of digital assets at the center of the debate, that is, who keeps the customer's money and with what guarantees. In a free market environment, a broker's credibility depends on its ability to deliver on what it promises.

What changes for the investor

For investors, the episode reminds us that custody risk and market risk are different things. Anyone who holds crypto assets in a brokerage depends on its security and withdrawal rules, and the temporary suspension of operations, such as Mercado Bitcoin, shows that access to one's own money can be interrupted even when the company claims there will be no harm to customers. It is worth monitoring official communications, the way in which refunds will be made and the evolution of withdrawal numbers published by independent sources. This article does not provide a purchase or sale recommendation and does not project prices.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.