Stolen Binance BTC Being Offloaded by Attackers

The Bitcoin stolen by hackers from Binance in May is on the move to other cryptocurrency exchanges. Cybersecurity company Confirm is reporting that the funds are being converted to fiat in small batches.

7,000 BTC was stolen from Binance in May 2019 and the funds are currently being moved to various cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Confirm, only around 1.8 BTC has been converted to fiat so far, but we can expect upselling to ramp up significantly in the coming month.

Stolen Binance BTC on the Move

At the time of writing, the following exchanges have been used to offload the stolen funds by the hackers. The move is likely a ‘test’ to confirm if more can be sold at a later date without raising suspicion.

Bitfinex: 0,7934 BTC Binance: 0,4294 BTC Bitmex: 0,0022 BTC KuCoin: 0,0713 BTC Kuna: 0,2482 BTC Bitmarket: 0,2560 BTC Crypterra: 0,0072 BTC Bitcoin.de: 0,0007 BTC WazirX: 0,0003 BTC

Clearly, the vast majority of Bitcoin has yet to be moved. However, it is possible that this minor sell-off was merely to test the waters. Confirm has successfully tracked these transfers and foiled the secrecy the hackers were expecting. We can expect mass-selling to escalate as the hackers familiarize themselves with the best means to sell to fiat currency. As of now, the identity of the malicious group responsible for the Binance hack is unknown.

What Went Wrong?

Hackers were able to breach Binance on May 7 of this year by compounding methods like phishing, viruses, and other attacks. According to the exchange, the hackers were able to compromise API keys, 2FA codes, and other information stored on accounts. Binance fully reimbursed all stolen BTC via its emergency fund, but the BTC still remains at large. Since then, the exchange has said it has improved its ‘defenses’ drastically. The hope is that, with Binance DEX becoming more popular, hacks like this will become impossible. Binance has been trying to transition to a decentralized exchange model for some time, however, it will likely operate its centralized exchange well into 2020. Ultimately, almost all exchanges are subject to these risks and DEXs allow users to protect their funds individually rather than assume a collective risk. Do you believe Binance is ‘safe’ from another hacking attempt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.