Binance crypto theft: Step-by-step guide to check if your funds are safe using Proof of Reserves
US authorities have seized around $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from crypto exchange Binance last month, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday. The department also pledged to take action against cyber scams originating from North Korea, CNBC reported.
More than $6 billion was stolen from Binance on October 29 in an attack that the DOJ attributed to actors linked to the North Korean military.
Joint efforts by the US government and the private sector have resulted in more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds being frozen, CNBC reported.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed the attack, which raised concerns about security in the cryptocurrency market, on members of the North Korean military. The agency refers to the group as “TraderTraitor.”
The DOJ said it was taking coordinated action against what it described as the North Korean government’s “schemes to fund its regime through the massive theft of cryptocurrency.”
As part of these efforts, the department announced “the court-authorized seizure and restraint of more than $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency recently stolen from Binance.”
Binance's Proof of Reserves (PoR) system allows users to check whether their assets are included in the exchange's published reserve records. Here is a step-by-step guide to verifying your account balance.
According to Binance's monthly schedule, users' balances are recorded on the first day of each month at midnight (00:00 UTC). The results are generally published by the seventh day of the month. However, the exchange may also publish special snapshots or announce changes to the publication date.
Checking the verification date displayed on Binance's Proof of Reserves page is essential, as it helps users identify the specific point in time at which their account balances were recorded. This allows them to check whether any deposits, withdrawals or trading activities took place before or after the snapshot.
Users can access their personal verification details on the official Binance website by following these steps:
Step 1: Log in to Binance.
Step 2: Go to your Profile.
Step 3: Navigate to Wallet → Verification.
Step 4: Look for the available Proof of Reserves verification records.
Step 5: Select the required date.
Step 6: Check the available verification information.
This page contains information associated with the user's account and the selected reporting date. Users should be careful not to confuse verification records, as each one relates to a specific reporting period and its corresponding verification process.
Your individual verification record is the first step in checking whether your account is included in Binance's Proof of Reserves data.
The exchange provides a Record ID and Merkle Leaf information linked to your account and the selected snapshot. These identifiers are specific to individual users and connect their account information to its place in the verification dataset.
Users can check their recorded assets and balances directly on the verification page.
However, viewing the record and independently verifying it are two different things.
While the verification page allows users to examine the information Binance has provided about their accounts, they can take the process further by downloading the Merkle Tree data and using the exchange's official verifier.
The user_config.json file contains detailed information about an account's position and balances in Binance's Proof of Reserves dataset. It includes several fields that help the verifier check the account's financial details.
TotalEquity, TotalDebt and TotalCollateral
These fields show the financial position of an account within the verification dataset.
- TotalEquity: The total USD value of the assets held in the account.
- TotalDebt: The total USD value of the amount borrowed.
- TotalCollateral: The value of assets pledged as collateral.
According to Binance's documentation, these figures use a scale of 10¹⁶. Therefore, the raw values in the configuration file may not represent the actual USD amounts directly. Users must apply the specified scaling factor to interpret them correctly.
The Assets field lists the cryptocurrency balances included in the selected snapshot. However, assets may appear as numerical indexes rather than familiar token symbols.
Users can identify them through the Asset_List.csv file included in the downloaded package. Each index corresponds to a cryptocurrency listed in that file.
Binance's documentation states that asset balances generally use a scaling factor of 10⁸. However, the following tokens use a factor of 10²: BTTC, SHIB, LUNC, XEC, WIN, BIDR, SPELL, HOT, DOGE, PEPE, FLOKI, IDRT, BONK, DOGS, 1000SATS and NEIRO.
Users should apply the relevant scaling factor before comparing these figures with the balances displayed in their regular Binance wallets.
If you encounter an issue during verification, check the following before drawing any conclusions:
- Verification record missing: Check whether you have selected the correct reporting period and whether Binance has published the results for that snapshot.
- Asset missing from the record: Check whether the cryptocurrency was included in the asset coverage for that reporting cycle, as coverage may vary between reports.
- Balance does not match your current wallet: Compare the recorded amount with your holdings on the snapshot date, rather than your current balance.
- Verifier cannot locate the required files: Make sure the downloaded package has been extracted correctly and the files are placed in the expected configuration directory.
- Verifier displays an error: Check whether you are using the correct verifier version and whether the configuration files belong to the same reporting period.
- Record ID or asset details appear incorrect: Compare the information on the Verification page with your downloaded user_config.json file and asset list. If the discrepancy persists, contact Binance Support through its official website.
Security reminder: Avoid downloading third-party tools that claim to fix verification files. Never share your Binance password, two-factor authentication (2FA) codes, or API credentials.
For about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Geopolitics: Well-rounded and deeply researched coverage on US News, Oval Office European Union, Ukraine Russia War, middle-east crisis, royal families and global leaders like - Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and premiers of other leading economies in the world. Meet the Team 1. Gulam Jeelani, Political Affairs Editor 2. Sugam Singhal, Senior Assistant Editor 3. Chanchal, Assistant Editor 4. Sanchari Ghosh, Chief Content Producer 5. Pratik Prashant Mukane, Chief Content Producer 6. Sayantani Biswas, Chief Content Producer 7. Ravi Hari, Deputy Chief Content Producer 8. Garvit Bhirani, Deputy Chief Content Producer 9. Akriti Anand, Senior Content Producer 10. Jocelyn Felix Fernandes, Senior Content Producer 11. Swastika Das Sharma, Content Producer 12. Mausam Jha, Content Producer 13. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer
Catch all the Instant Personal Loan, Business Loan, Business News, Money news, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
✕
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.