On Tuesday, Binance stated that currently, on an hourly basis, platform deposits have exceeded withdrawals. This change has occurred as user activity has begun to pick up following a $6 billion hacker attack.

This change occurred after 03:00 on November 3rd UTC. In the days prior to that, the platform experienced a large number of hacker-related withdrawals and the outflow of billions of dollars in Binance's crypto assets.

In the update confirming that deposits exceed withdrawals, Binance stated:

As of 03:00 UTC, we observe that deposits exceed withdrawals on a hourly basis, reflecting an improvement in user activity and a stabilization of cash flows.

Recovery after the Binance hack, $6 billion in outflows, and user confidence

The importance of this update lies in the fact that over the past two days, funds have almost been flowing out in one direction. On Sunday, November 1st, Binance gradually resumed its withdrawal function, three days after the $6 billion hacker attack occurred. The company also plans to reopen more assets and networks; according to its own data, user activity has since picked up.

How significant is the outflow of crypto assets from Binance?

In the first 9 and a half hours, Binance processed withdrawals of $4.649 billion and deposits of $1.01 billion, resulting in a net outflow of approximately $3.64 billion, which is equivalent to 2.1% of its assets of $171 billion. Co-founder Zhao Changpeng (Changpeng “CZ” Zhao) stated on X that the majority of the net outflow occurred in the initial hours, when hacker-related withdrawals on Binance reached their peak.

Even though today's deposits exceeded withdrawals, the overall situation remains dire. According to Binance's own hourly charts, for the period from 06:00 on November 1st UTC to 04:00 on November 3rd UTC, there was a total outflow of $10.97 billion in Binance's crypto assets, with total deposits amounting to $5.695 billion, resulting in a net outflow of $5.276 billion. The worst hour was on November 1st at 08:00 UTC, when withdrawals reached $1.243 billion and the net outflow amounted to $936 million. The periods USDT, USDC, and BTC accounted for the largest portion of users' withdrawn funds.

Thereafter, the gap continued to narrow on an hourly basis. On November 2nd and November 3rd at 6 different times in the early morning, Binance recorded net deposits; during the hour of 03:00 UTC, the platform received $193 million in deposits, corresponding to $183 million in withdrawals. This is also why the news that "Binance's deposits exceed withdrawals" is particularly important at present.

How does Binance cover this $6 billion hacker loss?

Binance stated that it will cover the losses using its own funds and the user safety asset fund ( SAFU ). Co-CEO Richard Teng said not long after Binance's $6 billion hacker attack:

"We promise to cover all losses resulting from the hack with company funds."

By Sunday, the exchange had covered approximately 95% of the stolen assets, up from about 90% the previous day; the remaining tokens with lower liquidity are still being purchased through public markets and over-the-counter trading ( OTC ). Major cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, and XRP have achieved 100% full support. The company also plans to replenish SAFU to around $1 billion. After withdrawals are resumed, Teng indicates:

“Binance will bear the financial consequences of the stolen funds, not our users.”

Now, users are testing this commitment, and the fact that deposits exceed withdrawals indicates that many people are still staying on the platform.

What does it mean for Binance users?

Currently, the fact that deposits exceed withdrawals is the best sign that the run on funds has slowed down. As of the time of writing, Binance user activity is picking up again, and the withdrawals related to the hack seem more like a brief shock rather than a sustained outflow. A net outflow of $3.64 billion in less than 10 hours is indeed a large amount of money, but this only corresponds to 2.1% of the assets disclosed by Binance before the attack, and the outflow of crypto assets has also cooled down.

Currently, the deposits on Binance exceed withdrawals, but the exchange still needs to buy back the last missing tokens and release an updated reserve certification report.