Binance utilizes half of its SAFU Bitcoin reserves and releases a reserve certificate
After a transfer of 7,499 bitcoins (BTC) related to a hacker attack, Binance's (SAFU) bitcoin wallet currently holds about 7,500 (BTC). Binance has not yet provided a timeline for how to recover this fund, which amounts to 1 billion US dollars.
On Monday, Binance publicly disclosed that the balance in its emergency Bitcoin wallets was approximately half of what it was before. Previously, the exchange had utilized its user protection fund to cover the losses incurred from a $6.3 billion hacker attack last Thursday.
Binance confirmed that on Saturday, there was a transfer of 7,499 bitcoins, which was linked to the partial activation of Secure Asset Fund, for, Users (and SAFU, the user safety asset fund).
As of Monday, the wallet held approximately 7,500 BTC, worth $583 million, which is lower than the level of about 15,000 BTC before the transfer.
This theft case is the largest in the history of cryptocurrencies, forcing Binance to suspend withdrawals in order to replenish the stolen assets. On Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed this attack to North Korea and identified the hackers as TraderTraitor.
Binance began to gradually resume withdrawals on Sunday and stated that it had replenished approximately 95% of the affected assets, which is higher than the 90% from the previous day. For the remaining tokens with poor liquidity, Binance continues to buy them through market trading and over-the-counter transactions.
The exchange is using its corporate treasury, SAFU, as well as some futures insurance funds to cover the losses.
SAFU The policy does not specify a deadline for making up for the funds after a hacker attack.
Binance's SAFU policy outlines arrangements for regular monitoring and rebalancing of the fund's market value.
The policy states: "If due to BTC price fluctuations, the market value of the fund falls below $800 million, Binance will rebalance the fund to restore its value to $1 billion."
However, the policy does not specify when the funds withdrawn after a security incident should be replenished.
Regarding the questions raised about Cointelegraph's remaining reserves for SAFU, whether further utilization will occur, and the replenishment plan, Binance did not respond immediately.
After the hacker incident, Binance released proof of reserve verification
On Monday, Binance stated that after completing the corresponding cryptographic verification, users can now verify their balances against the snapshot of the exchange's reserve verification from Saturday.
Binance stated that this snapshot shows that the 10 cryptocurrencies held by customers—including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT—all received at least a 1:1 support.
The exchange plans to take another snapshot covering more tokens on Wednesday, and it is estimated that it will still take 40 to 50 hours to generate the relevant proofs.
