Blockchain records show that the exchange’s publicly identified Secure Asset Fund for Users, known as SAFU, held slightly more than 7,500 bitcoin on Tuesday, compared with 15,000 in February. Four transactions on 31 October sharply reduced the balance, with Binance confirming that 7,499 bitcoin had been transferred as part of its response to the attack.
The remaining holdings were valued at approximately $580 million, based on a bitcoin price near $77,000. That places the reserve below the $800 million threshold specified in Binance’s published replenishment policy, although the policy applies expressly to declines caused by bitcoin price movements rather than withdrawals to meet losses.
Binance has promised to rebuild SAFU to approximately $1 billion but has not announced when the replenishment will occur. The distinction between market losses and money deployed after a security breach leaves the timing of any restoration outside the explicit trigger in its existing published rules.
The exchange said on 31 October that it was using part of SAFU, its corporate treasury and a portion of its futures insurance fund to replace assets stolen during the cyberattack. It had earmarked more than $6.34 billion to address the losses and said customers, rather than the company, would not bear the financial cost.
Binance has not disclosed the precise contribution from its futures insurance fund. That fund serves a separate purpose, helping to absorb losses arising from forced liquidations in derivatives trading and limiting the need to reduce profitable traders’ positions automatically.
The company said its insurance fund remained above the coverage required by its risk management framework after the transfer. It also said it would monitor the reserve against stress scenarios and add resources when necessary, without publishing the amount used in the security response.
Speaking at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Tuesday, Binance co-chief executive Richard Teng said the exchange remained in very strong financial health. He said customer deposits and withdrawals had largely returned to normal levels and that approximately 95% of the affected cryptocurrency assets had been replaced.
The remaining 5% comprised less liquid tokens, which Binance was working to acquire through over-the-counter counterparties. The exchange had previously said it was using market purchases and direct transactions to restore balances in the cryptocurrencies affected by the theft.
The attack prompted Binance to suspend withdrawals temporarily before restoring access in stages on Sunday. The company attributed the compromise to a laptop infected with malicious software, while the US Federal Bureau of Investigation linked the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking operation. North Korea has denied the allegation.
The exchange said net customer withdrawals reached $4.72 billion by Monday, equivalent to about 3% of platform assets. Binance disputed some outside estimates of outflows, arguing that transfers between wallets controlled by the company had been misclassified as customer withdrawals.
The company has also published a proof-of-reserves snapshot covering major cryptocurrencies. It said users could verify balances against the snapshot after completion of the associated cryptographic proof, and maintained that the listed customer holdings were backed at least one-for-one.
Proof-of-reserves disclosures concern the backing of customer balances and are distinct from SAFU, which is intended to provide an additional source of compensation after qualifying incidents. The publication of reserve data therefore does not itself establish that the emergency fund has been replenished.
The exchange said its October reserve disclosure covered bitcoin, ether, tether and several other tokens, while further verification work was planned for additional assets. Those disclosures are designed to let customers compare reported liabilities with available holdings, although they do not amount to a comprehensive independent audit of the exchange’s financial position or its wider obligations.
Binance’s published SAFU guidance says it monitors the fund’s market value and will restore it to $1 billion if bitcoin price fluctuations push that value below $800 million. The document also gives Binance discretion over which losses qualify for compensation and how the fund is managed.
The fund is held and managed by Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, an entity regulated within Abu Dhabi Global Market. Binance completed the conversion of SAFU from stablecoins into bitcoin in February, making its disclosed wallet balance directly observable through public blockchain transactions.
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