Binance restores 90% of $600 million stolen in KuCoin hack

Binance announced on Tuesday that it has replenished roughly 90 % of the cryptocurrency that was stolen in the 2022 KuCoin hack, a theft that at its peak removed about $600 million from the exchange’s wallets. The company said the missing funds were restored through a combination of its own reserves and contributions from other industry players. The statement was released on a Binance blog post and shared on the company’s social media channels.

The KuCoin breach was the largest crypto‑currency theft in history, affecting more than 1,300 customers and erasing a large portion of the exchange’s liquidity. The recovery of most of the stolen assets is significant because it shows that, even after a large security failure, the market can recover and that other exchanges are willing to help. It also highlights the fragility of digital‑asset storage and the importance of strong security protocols, especially as regulators around the world tighten oversight of crypto‑asset exchanges.

Binance’s replenishment plan involved a “Crypto Asset Recovery Initiative” that pooled funds from multiple exchanges and institutional investors. According to the post, the initiative covered $540 million of the original $600 million loss, leaving about $60 million still missing. KuCoin’s CEO, Yi He, praised the industry’s cooperation but said that the remaining funds would be pursued through legal channels. Regulators in the United States and Europe have been monitoring the situation, noting that the incident underscores the need for better cross‑border cooperation in investigating crypto‑asset thefts.

The remaining 10 % of the stolen assets remains unaccounted for, and investigations are still underway. Binance has pledged to continue working with law‑enforcement agencies to trace the missing funds. The incident also prompted calls for stricter security standards, including mandatory insurance for crypto‑asset exchanges and clearer regulatory frameworks for digital‑asset custody. The industry will likely see new compliance measures in the coming months as regulators respond to the high‑profile breach and its partial recovery.