Binance draws on treasury, SAFU and futures fund to cover 95% of $6.3bn hack

In short

• Binance says it has covered about 95% of the $6.3bn stolen in last week's record hack, according to Cointelegraph.
• The cover came from Binance's own treasury, its SAFU fund and its futures insurance fund; withdrawals reopened on 1 November.
• The remaining 5% is about $315m; the cover came from Binance's own funds, according to Cointelegraph.
• Binance doesn't publish accounts: Changpeng Zhao put revenue at about $5bn, Bloomberg at $10.7bn, Cointelegraph said.

Binance covers 95% and reopens withdrawals

Binance says it has covered about 95% of the $6.3bn stolen in last week's record hack, drawing on its own treasury, its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and its futures insurance fund, according to Cointelegraph. Withdrawals reopened on 1 November, Cointelegraph reported on 2 November. Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange, a venue where people buy, sell and trade crypto, and where many keep their coins on deposit.

The remaining 5% is still about $315m. A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph: "Binance will absorb the financial impact of the stolen funds, not users."

The FBI attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a cyber unit sponsored by the North Korean state, The Times of India reported, adding that blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis had also linked the hack to North Korea. US President Donald Trump said Washington was not yet certain whether North Korea was involved.

What the $6.3bn hole means for Binance revenue

What enables an exchange to absorb a loss of that size? Its revenue. Binance does not publish its accounts, so the scale of the hit depends on which estimate is used. Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder, put annual revenue at about $5bn in March, while Bloomberg's estimate for the year to June is $10.7bn, according to Cointelegraph. On either figure, the loss is worth around six to 15 months of revenue. For comparison, Cointelegraph lists Tether's revenue for the past year at $5.96bn, Coinbase's at $5.65bn and Circle's at $2.38bn.

Being covered does not mean the money has been recovered. CertiK told Cointelegraph it needed more details to check Binance's claim of replacement funds. The six-to-15-month range also rests on two estimates rather than published accounts.

Are Binance users' funds safe?

For ordinary holders, the practical question is whether balances are intact. Binance says it will absorb the loss rather than users, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The open question the reporting points to is the refill: SAFU and the futures insurance fund were drawn on to cover the hole.

How traders reacted on X

Traders on X split between relief and unease. Satoshi Drops (@SatoshiDropsHQ) said on X that users are whole but the funds now need refilling, and that whether SAFU gets topped back up is the real stress signal. Uncle Meng (@menghung741209) said on X that covering 95% is not the flex here, because $6.3bn was stolen in the first place. Bad Decisions (@baddecisions530) said on X that the other 5% is still $315m, a lot of money to describe as almost done. Howling Husky (@Howling__Husky) said on X that the real question is how much liquidity walked out for good, citing $5.8bn in outflows.

Others were more positive. Russell (@RusBus09) said on X that most exchanges would simply be gone after covering $6bn out of their own pocket. Jacky Goh (@JackyGohSG) said on X that covering a $6bn hit from treasury is impressive, but not needing to is the actual product. Rewards Bunny (@rewardsbunny) said on X that covering 95% of a $6.3bn hole is the most honest earnings report Binance never published.

The next thing to watch is whether the SAFU and futures insurance buffers get rebuilt, and how much Binance discloses about its reserves. Binance said in its 31 October update that it is committed to replenishing SAFU to about $1bn. Binance has not published its accounts, according to Cointelegraph.

Key numbers

Questions readers ask

Are Binance users' funds safe after the $6.3bn hack?

Binance says it will absorb the loss rather than users, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph. CertiK told Cointelegraph it needed more information to verify the replacement funds.

How is Binance paying for the $6.3bn hack?

Binance says it is using its own treasury, its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) and its futures insurance fund, according to Cointelegraph.

Does covering 95% mean the stolen crypto was recovered?

No. Covered means Binance has replaced the value of the stolen assets from its own funds, according to Cointelegraph. The stolen coins themselves are a separate matter.

When will Binance publish full proof of reserves?

Binance does not publish its accounts, according to Cointelegraph, so there is no full public reserves statement behind the 95% figure. Treat the number as Binance's own claim until it is independently verified.

Our view

At InvestIn.News, we think the real story is not that Binance is fine, but who can absorb a record hack at all. Covering users from treasury, SAFU and the futures insurance fund shows deep reserves, and it also shows how opaque those reserves are: Binance does not publish accounts, so the six-to-15-month revenue range rests on Changpeng Zhao's $5bn figure and Bloomberg's $10.7bn estimate.

Covered is not recovered. Binance has replaced value, but the stolen coins are a separate question, and CertiK told Cointelegraph it needed more information to verify the claimed replacement funds. The proof of reserves, still being generated, is the document that matters.

The buffers are the next test. SAFU and the futures insurance fund were drawn on, and whether they get rebuilt, and how quickly, is the clearest signal of how much strain the treasury is still carrying.

How we reported this: this story draws on Cointelegraph's 2 November post on X, Bloomberg's revenue estimate as cited by Cointelegraph, and 8 public posts shown in the story.

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Keshav Aggarwal

What to watch: Whether the SAFU and futures insurance buffers get rebuilt, and how much Binance discloses about its reserves.