Binance co-founder and co-CEO Yi He rejected comparisons between the exchange and FTX after the $6.3 billion hack. She said full operations resume once security systems are confirmed safe, while Binance reports it has replaced approximately 95% of the stolen assets.
Yi He says securing Binance's systems comes first, before customers can withdraw funds and normal operations return. She made the point in a November 2 X post, answering a post that compared Binance with collapsed rival FTX.
According to Yi He: "Our top priority right now is to ensure the environment is secure". The quoted post claimed Binance held approximately $171 billion in assets, while the company separately reported replacing 95% of the assets stolen on October 29.
Yi He criticizes exchanges with opaque records
Yi He argued that some fraudulent exchanges, peer-to-peer platforms and commercial banks keep opaque financial records. In her view, customers of such businesses struggle to learn where their deposits went after a collapse. However, she did not name FTX directly in her own statement.
FTX collapsed in November 2022 after a wave of customer withdrawals exposed a multibillion-dollar shortfall in its assets.
Withdrawals reopen in phases
Binance began restoring Bitcoin withdrawals on November 1, nearly three days after suspending the service. Later that day, it reopened USDT and USDC withdrawals on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain, along with ETH and BNB transfers.
Binance said individual assets and networks return once security teams complete their checks. It has not provided a single date for restoring every affected withdrawal route.
After the reopening, Binance reported net customer withdrawals of approximately $3.64 billion, equivalent to 2.1% of its reported assets.
Replacement of stolen assets and the investigation
Binance said balances in BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and ZEC were fully backed. The remaining 5% involved less liquid cryptocurrencies that were taking longer to obtain.
The company previously reported that approximately $3 billion in stolen assets had been frozen on-chain with help from blockchain partners, token issuers and law enforcement agencies.
Binance has promised a detailed technical report on the attack and scheduled an updated proof-of-reserves report for November 2.
Source: crypto.news
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