Key Takeaways
- Binance recovered over $73 million in stolen funds by July 31 this year.
- Blockchain technology aids Binance in securing funds from external thefts.
Binance has successfully recovered and frozen over $73 million in user funds from external hacks as of July 31 this year. This amount surpasses the $55 million secured throughout 2023. Approximately 80% of these recoveries are related to external hacks, exploits, and thefts, while the remaining 20% are from scams outside the Binance platform.
“Binance has cultivated a crypto user-focused culture that defines every aspect of our operations. This achievement underscores our unwavering dedication to protecting not just our users, but also enhancing the overall security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” stated Jimmy Su, Chief Security Officer at Binance.
Additionally, Su highlighted that the recovery efforts are especially important during bull cycles such as the current one, as new investors venture into crypto and the rising prices might lead to larger monetary losses.By collaborating with other industry players and users, Binance has been successful in helping users recover misplaced and lost digital funds, as well as freezing and retrieving funds that left the platform. Notably, Binance points out that the increase in recovered and frozen funds this year is not indicative of a rise in criminal activity within the industry but rather a result of its “proactive security measures.”
“The innate nature of the blockchain, where all transactions are public and trackable, makes it easier to track and recover funds. This public record allows for easier identification and monitoring of potentially suspicious activity,” stated the exchange
According to the 2024 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis, the value received by illicit cryptocurrency addresses dropped significantly in 2023, totaling $24.2 billion, down from $39.6 billion in 2022. This reduction is attributed to a drop in scamming and stolen funds incidents.However, ransomware incidents reached their largest amount in stolen crypto in the same year, surpassing $1.1 billion, while darknet markets also saw a spike in illicit funds.
