Binance says Brazilian customer funds are safe after record $6.3 billion attack

Binance stated that its Brazilian customers' funds are safe after a hacker attack. According to Money Times, criminals stole US$6.3 billion from the brokerage, in an episode that the vehicle classifies as a record. In a statement this Friday (30), BBrasil SPSAV LTDA., responsible for users in Brazil, said that the assets are in cold wallets, wallets without an internet connection, and follow the segregation determined by the Central Bank, as reported by Times Brasil.

To cover possible losses, the company set aside more than US$6.34 billion, equivalent to R$34.49 billion. Of this total, US$5 billion (R$27.2 billion) was allocated to the tokens affected by the attack, according to Times Brasil. Binance also informed that it will bear direct losses with its own resources, including with the SAFU fund.

Analysts attribute the attack to North Korea, a country that regularly denies any involvement, according to Money Times. Experts interviewed by CNBC say that North Korean hackers combine obfuscation techniques with laundering networks to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency, which makes recovery more difficult as funds circulate.

Companies in the sector and police are trying to recover more than US$6 billion before criminals hide the funds, according to Times Brasil. The dispute, therefore, is against time, and the outcome depends on tracking and cooperation between companies and authorities.

In Brazil, InfoMoney reported that withdrawals of virtual assets were temporarily suspended, with no scheduled date for resumption. The same vehicle recalls that the attack on Binance globally is considered the biggest theft of cryptocurrencies in history.

What changes for the investor

The episode shows that the security of cryptoassets depends on the custody structure of each broker, and not just on the value of the tokens. Asset segregation and the use of cold wallets are the protection points highlighted by the company, but the suspension of withdrawals reminds that access to money may be interrupted while the investigation progresses. As the facts found do not deal with quotations, this text does not project prices. The most visible effect is on confidence in custody, and it is worth monitoring the progress of the US$6.34 billion reserve and the eventual resumption of withdrawals. The case also reinforces the defense of clear custody rules and transparency regarding reserves, pillars of a free competitive market in which investors can assess the risk of each platform.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.