Binance reserves $6.34 billion after $6.3 billion theft

Binance says it has reserved more than $6.34 billion to cover an estimated $6.3 billion theft and plans to reopen withdrawals in phases on November 1, subject to security checks. The exchange says about $5 billion of the reserve is already held in the affected tokens, with the rest being sourced through purchases. The theft was reported as a breach of Binance’s hot wallets across multiple blockchains. The company said it would absorb the financial impact using company funds, including its Secure Asset Fund for Users, or SAFU, and its corporate treasury. Binance has not detailed how much stolen cryptocurrency has actually returned to its control. Binance reported that about $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen with help from industry partners. Frozen assets are not necessarily recovered, and the exchange said recovery work was continuing. Elliptic separately estimated that $2.84 billion had been verified as frozen as of its October 30, 8 a.m. UTC update; that assessment has a specific observation time and scope. The company said approximately $5 billion of its reserved funds were held in the same tokens involved in the theft, while the remaining amount was being...