Binance CEO Says They’re Closer to Identifying Hacker Behind $570,000,000 Exploit

Binance BNB Hack Security

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Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...

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June 26, 2023 06:55 EDT

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Major cryptoasset exchange Binance is closer to finding out the identity of the person(s) behind the $570 million hack on its native BNB blockchain, CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) told CNBC.

CZ said that Binance is working with law enforcement to identify the perpetrator(s), stating that,

“The law enforcement gave us some tips on who they think it might be, […] so we’re actually narrowing down [the hacker].”

Zhao listed three elements that, combined, make the space safer.

The CEO stated that,

“We’re still actually chasing– helping [authorities] to chase the bad players, working with law enforcement around the globe. Working with law enforcement is one of the ways that we can try to make the space safe.”

CZ further said that the exchange is working with security companies and investing in them to do code audits.

Lastly, said he, there needs to be education for users about potential risks in the industry.

As reported, Binance announced the suspension of deposits and withdrawals from its BNB chain on October 6, after it had identified an unauthorized transfer of BNB coins.

In a post-mortem, the BNB Chain team explained that they had to contact community validators one by one in order to halt the chain and stop the incident from spreading. “It was not that easy as BNB Smart Chain has 26 active validators at present and 44 in total in different time zones,” the team said.

The hacker or hackers managed to withdraw BNB 2 million, worth around $568 million at the time, and $576.6 million today.

The blockchain managed to freeze 80%-90% of it, CZ repeated in the interview with CNBC, “so the actual loss of it was actually much smaller.”

At 10:11 UTC on Thursday morning, the fourth coin per market capitalization, BNB, was trading at $288. It was unchanged in a day, up 6.1% in a week, and up 4.6% in a month.

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Learn more: 
– BNB Chain Back Online Following $568 Million Exploit
– Binance Custody Onboarded Risk Management Tools from TRM Labs

– Binance Announces $500 Million Funding for Bitcoin Mining
– Binance Opens Offices in Brazil as Team Size Doubles