Why Bitcoin Is Shrugging Off the $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

Bitcoin climbed off its lows and the damage from the Binance hack doesn’t look too bad. (AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

Bitcoin fell nearly 7% to a low of $76,563 following a $6.3 billion hack at cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The FBI said North Korea’s state-sponsored cybercrime unit, TraderTraitor, was responsible for the Binance heist.
Binance covered $6 billion of the lost funds and began restoring withdrawals on Sunday.

Bitcoin turned 18 over the weekend. In the U.K. that’s typically marked with your first legal pint of beer and the mother of all hangovers.

That’s not far off what happened to digital assets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency slumped close to 7% from its Friday high to its Saturday low of $76,563 after a $6.3 billion heist at crypto exchange Binance.

North Korea was responsible, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Saturday, specifically a state-sponsored cybercrime unit called TraderTraitor.

Binance suspended withdrawals but began restoring them on Sunday. It reported $3.64 billion in net outflows in the first nine and a half hours after resuming withdrawals, but added that after an initial spike withdrawal volumes declined and stabilized.

The company also said it has covered $6 billion of the amount lost in the hack.

Much like British teenagers on a hangover, crypto investors are resilient and often willing to get straight back on it quickly.

Bitcoin has recovered, climbing above $78,000 early Monday to trade down just 0.2% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum and XRP prices also stabilized.

The hack is still a hugely concerning event for cryptos but the selling has at least eased and, if it stays like this, the damage won’t be too bad.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

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