In the aftermath of a recent security breach at Binance, blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain has revealed that the perpetrator managed to offload over 130 altcoins across EVM-compatible networks. According to Lookonchain’s data, these transactions generated approximately $279 million in revenue.
Scale of the Breach and Initial Findings
The Binance security incident, reported last Thursday, involved an astounding $6.3 billion in assets, potentially marking it as one of the largest crypto thefts on record. Initial investigations by Binance suggest that the breach may have been initiated through the compromised laptop of a DevOps engineer. The unauthorized withdrawal requests were made possible by the hacker gaining access to a service container within the exchange’s system. As one of the globe’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance is known for its significant trading volume in both spot and derivatives markets.
Lookonchain disclosed that the hacker disposed of more than 130 altcoins on EVM networks, amassing roughly $279 million worth of ETH and USDC in the process.
Prominent Shiba Inu Liquidation
Among the offloaded assets, Shiba Inu (SHIB) stood out. According to the analysis, the hacker sold approximately 499,926,072,560 SHIB tokens, equating to 873 ETH, valued at $1,960,615. In total, the attacker collected 123,400 ETH and 1.69 million USDC, with ETH’s dollar equivalent reaching $277.26 million, resulting in a total of around $279 million.
Aside from SHIB, the hacker continues to diversify the stolen funds. Most notably, 970,522 SOL, valued at approximately $95.9 million, is being converted into Bitcoin (BTC).
Continuing Asset Conversion
Despite the enormity of the SHIB sale, the sale’s impact on SHIB’s circulating supply remained minimal, only representing about 0.05% of the total supply. The market absorbed these transactions with relatively limited disruption. Binance has effectively restored approximately 95% of affected assets and is following up with market and over-the-counter channels to recover the remaining tokens.
The fallout from the hack saw Shiba Inu’s price, alongside the broader crypto market, suffer a sharp decline on October 29. SHIB’s price plummeted to $0.00000446 before showing signs of recovery, although it finished Saturday in negative territory with an 18.92% loss for October. On November 1, SHIB’s price fluctuated between $0.00000466 and $0.00000472. Within the last 24 hours, trading data revealed a 0.04% decline at $0.00000469, resulting in a weekly loss of 3.14%.
Binance’s swift action has already reinstated about 95% of customer assets, and the exchange has reiterated its commitment to bearing the financial impact of the stolen funds. It continues to acquire the remaining associated token assets through market and over-the-counter dealings.
