Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has been a Target of hackers since it was founded in 2017.
In July 2018, hackers stole more than $30 million worth of digital currency from Binance. The attack affected both Binance’s hot wallet (an online wallet connected to the internet) and its cold wallet (a offline wallet not connected to the internet).
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao immediately announced that all stolen funds would be reimbursed from the company’s “Secure Asset Fund for Users” (SAFU), a risk management fund that Binance set up in case of an attack.
This attack was a wake-up call for Binance and other exchanges. It highlighted the need for better security measures to protect user funds.
Binance has since implemented a number of security improvements, including multi-factor authentication, hardware security keys, and withdrawal limits. It has also created a dedicated Security team and established a Bug Bounty program to encourage researchers to report vulnerabilities.
Despite these measures, Binance was hacked again in May 2019. This time, hackers stole 7,000 Bitcoin (worth about $40 million at the time) from the exchange’s hot wallet.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform, and as with all cryptocurrency exchanges, there is no guarantee that funds are safe on the platform. Cryptocurrency prices can be volatile and are subject to manipulation, so you should never invest more than you can afford to lose. Before investing in any cryptocurrency, it is important to do your own research and understand the risks associated with the platform.
Once again, Binance reimbursed all stolen funds from SAFU. And once again, it pledged to improve its security measures.
The most recent hack on Binance occurred in December 2020. This time, hackers used phishing attacks to steal more than $15 million worth of cryptocurrency from user accounts.
Once again, Binance reimbursed all stolen funds from SAFU and vowed to improve its security measures. The exchange also announced that it would be “donating” $10 million to help “accelerate the development of open-source security tools.”
So far, Binance has been successful in reimbursing all stolen funds and maintaining user confidence in the exchange. But the question remains: are funds safe in Binance?
The answer is complicated. On one hand, Binance has taken significant steps to improve its security measures and is quick to reimburse users when hacks do occur.
On the other hand, it seems that no exchange is completely safe from hacking attempts – no matter how many safety precautions are put in place.