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Binance withdrawals frozen after thieves steal $5.6 billion in crypto in record-breaking cryptocurrency heist — firm says it will cover losses as stablecoin networks move to freeze $2.4b in stolen assets

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Binance withdrawals frozen after thieves steal $5.6 billion in crypto in record-breaking cryptocurrency heist — firm says it will cover losses as stablecoin networks move to freeze $2.4b in stolen assets

From hereon, this month shall be called SpookITober. In yet another high-profile cybersecurity incident this month, Binance.com, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been hacked, to the tune of $5.6 billion taken in various cryptocurrencies. As of this writing, withdrawals at the exchange are suspended until the company sorts out the situation, though it has stated repeatedly that "user funds remain safe," adding that it "will cover all losses." The U.S.-specific Binance.us website is so far reportedly unaffected.

" Our initial investigation suggested that the security incident may have involved a compromised laptop, however our subsequent investigation has uncovered additional points of breach," the company said in an update on Friday. "This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it. We are still gathering the facts, and will share more directly as we have them."

Preliminary info breaks down the stolen amounts like so: $1.57b in Tether dollars (USDT), $1.45b in Bitcoin (BTC), $875m in Ethereum (ETH), $823m in Circle dollars (USDC), $234m in Tron (TRX), $88.5m in Ripple dollars (RLUSD), $75M in Wrapped-Beacon Ethereum (WBETH), $50m in Tether Gold (XAUT), and $447.5 million in other cryptocurrencies. The "dollar" currencies are all stablecoins, meaning they're pegged to $1 to represent dollars in the virtual space. Meanwhile, Tether Gold is pegged to the value of one troy ounce.

4 billion. It's possible, but not guaranteed, that the gold-pegged XAUT will also be frozen.



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