Binance says it holds $5B in matching tokens to cover hack losses

Binance said hackers stole about $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency. The exchange described it as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. The scale matters because Binance must replace affected assets while continuing to support customer balances.

Binance said it had set aside more than $6.34 billion in company funds. Of that amount, $5 billion was already held in the exact token assets that were stolen. About $3 billion in affected assets had also been frozen with help from blockchain partners, but Binance excluded those frozen assets from its company-fund calculation.

Important details remain unresolved. Binance has not said when it bought the matching tokens, which tokens it still needs, or whether it has recovered stolen crypto. The holdings are expected to appear in the exchange’s next proof-of-reserves report, while independent verification is still pending.

Matching tokens are the same token assets required to replace the stolen holdings. Binance’s spokesperson said the exchange held $5 billion in “the exact token assets” involved in the hack. Those assets were reportedly in Binance’s custody, rather than merely represented by an equivalent dollar amount elsewhere.

For example, if hackers took several specific tokens, holding those same tokens gives Binance the corresponding assets needed for replacement. Holding cash, Bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency with the same market value would be financially different. It would not itself restore the stolen token units. Binance did not disclose when it acquired the matching assets.

The claim has not yet been independently confirmed. CertiK said it needed more information to assess whether the $5 billion could be verified on-chain. Binance declined to provide wallet addresses for security reasons but said the holdings would appear in its next proof-of-reserves report.

Crypto values are divided among many separate tokens. If a hack removes particular tokens, an equal dollar amount in another asset does not automatically replace those units. Exact matching therefore matters because it aligns Binance’s claimed reserves with the assets reportedly taken from its wallets.

The article gives a concrete example at the scale level: Binance says it holds $5 billion in the exact token assets required. That is different from simply pointing to cash or a portfolio of other cryptocurrencies. Binance says the tokens are in its custody, though it has not disclosed when they were acquired or provided wallet addresses.

This distinction also affects verification. CertiK said it needed more information to check the holdings independently on-chain. The next proof-of-reserves report may show the claimed assets, but the article does not say when that report will appear or confirm that all stolen tokens have been replaced.

CertiK CEO Ronghui Gu estimated that about $3 billion in frozen assets, combined with Binance’s roughly $1.17 billion emergency fund, could cover about 66% of the reported losses. That estimate compares available or restricted assets with the reported $6.3 billion hack.

The calculation leaves a potential shortfall of about $2.1 billion. The frozen assets were secured with help from blockchain partners and were excluded from Binance’s company funds set aside to cover losses. Binance’s emergency fund was reported separately at roughly $1.16 billion by Nansen and about $1.17 billion in Gu’s estimate.

Gu said the possible gap represented about 1.3% of Binance’s reported $165 billion in exchange reserves. Nansen said it could not verify the funds beyond the emergency fund or determine where the remaining money would come from. Binance said its revenue and existing holdings could cover the losses.

A remaining shortfall would mean the assets already identified might not fully replace the stolen cryptocurrency. Binance could then need to use more revenue, existing holdings, or other company funds. The issue matters because customer balances are backed by assets, and any gap would make replacing the affected tokens more difficult.

The article identifies several possible resources. Binance says it set aside more than $6.34 billion and held $5 billion in matching tokens. Its founder also said SpaceX holdings linked to a $500 million investment were worth more than $1 billion. Yi He said yearly revenue was sufficient to cover the losses without selling that stake.

However, the article does not confirm which tokens Binance still needs to buy, when purchases will finish, or how much stolen crypto was recovered. Nansen could not verify the wider funding picture, and CertiK requested more information before checking the $5 billion claim.

A proof-of-reserves report is a disclosure of assets an exchange holds to support customer balances. It helps show whether the platform has assets corresponding to what customers are owed. In this case, Binance says the report will include company holdings connected to the hack response.

The key example is Binance’s claimed $5 billion in matching tokens. The exchange says those assets are in its custody and are the exact token assets required. Binance also said it provides weekly reports on company funds to Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority, a requirement that predates the hack.

A report can provide evidence of holdings, but the article does not establish that it alone proves every detail. Binance declined to disclose wallet addresses for security reasons. CertiK said it needed more information to assess whether the claimed holdings could be independently verified on-chain. The report’s publication date remains unknown.

Blockchains record cryptocurrency movements in shared transaction histories. Wallet addresses identify where assets are held or sent, allowing observers to trace transfers across the relevant networks. This traceability is why analysts can investigate hacked funds and compare claimed holdings with visible blockchain balances.

The article reports that funds were drained from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains. Blockchain partners helped freeze about $3 billion in affected assets. That process depends on tracking the assets and, for some tokens, using controls that can restrict or stop transfers. CertiK also said it needed more information to verify Binance’s claimed holdings independently on-chain.

On-chain evidence can show token balances and transaction movements, but it may not answer every question about ownership or company finances. Binance declined to provide wallet addresses, citing security reasons. Its next proof-of-reserves report is expected to show the matching assets, though the article gives no publication date or final verification.