Binance Completes Zero-Knowledge Reserve Proof for Ten Tokens After $6.3B Hack
Binance said it finished a zero-knowledge Proof of Reserves verification covering ten major tokens after roughly $6.3 billion was drained from its hot wallets on October 29 and 30. The exchange reports 100% or greater backing for each asset in the October 31 snapshot, with about 95% of affected funds replenished as of November 2.
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What Binance Published
Binance completed a zero-knowledge Proof of Reserves verification for ten cryptocurrencies on November 2, using a snapshot taken at 00:00 UTC on October 31, according to the exchange's recovery update. The exchange had earlier estimated completion for November 3, and said the proof took roughly 40 to 50 hours to generate because of the computing required.
The covered assets are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, BNB, Solana, USDC, XRP, USD1, RLUSD and Zcash. Binance says each showed reserve backing of at least 100%. Crypto Briefing cites Bitcoin at 100.04% and BNB at 101.30%.
How the Verification Works
Binance uses a Merkle tree combined with a zk-SNARK. The Merkle tree lets each user confirm that their balance was included in the snapshot, while the zk-SNARK proves that total reserves cover liabilities at a minimum 1:1 ratio without disclosing individual balances. Users download an open-source verifier from the Proof of Reserves site, and the code is publicly available on GitHub, which Binance says has been independently audited.
The proof confirms backing at a single point in time. It does not establish coverage on any other date, and it covers only the ten tokens listed.
Scale of the Hack and Recovery
Binance said approximately $6.3 billion was drained from its hot wallets on October 29 and 30. The figure matches the amount Binance had earlier set aside for losses, described by crypto.news as more than $6.34 billion. The two reports differ slightly on the amount of matching assets the exchange held by October 30, with crypto.news citing about $5 billion and Crypto Briefing not giving a comparable figure.
As of November 2, Binance reported recovering about 95% of the affected assets, up from 80% on October 30 and 90% on October 31, according to the exchange's successive updates. The remaining 5% consists of less-liquid tokens outside the ten assets in the current proof. Binance says it is sourcing those through market purchases, over-the-counter deals and industry partners.
Replenishment has drawn on the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), part of the Futures Insurance Fund, and corporate treasury resources. Binance has committed to restoring SAFU to about $1 billion and says customers will not bear the losses.
Open Questions and Next Steps
Binance plans another reserve snapshot on November 4, which it says will cover more tokens than the current report and will again require roughly 40 to 50 hours of proof generation. Withdrawals are being restored in phases starting November 1, and the exchange has not published a timeline for full restoration.
Crypto Briefing notes that the reported shortfall is concentrated in less-liquid tokens, none of which are in the current proof, so holders of those assets will likely look to the November 4 snapshot to see whether they are included and how their coverage ratios compare.
Why It Matters
For Traders
Holders of the ten covered tokens can now verify their balances, but the 5% of unrecovered losses sits in less-liquid assets, so watch the November 4 snapshot for any change in coverage.
For Investors
A cryptographically verifiable proof of reserves after a $6.3 billion loss is a material test of exchange solvency claims and may shape how institutions judge centralized custody risk.
For Builders
Binance's Merkle tree and zk-SNARK design with open-source GitHub verifier offers a reference implementation for teams building custody or exchange attestation tooling.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
