Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has shared a story of how executives of a Binance client were abducted and forced to empty their crypto wallets. CZ detailed how the cryptocurrency exchange was able to track the transactions and freeze over 94% of the stolen funds.
Binance Client Executives Kidnapped, Forced to Empty Crypto Wallets — CZ Says Total Loss Was $12.5 Million
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CZ Shares Story of How Binance Freezes Stolen Funds
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) shared a story of how the crypto exchange froze stolen funds on social media platform X Friday. Noting that the event was real, he explained that executives of a Binance client were abducted while on a business trip in Montenegro. Emphasizing that they were forced to empty their crypto wallets, CZ said the executives suffered a total loss of about $12.5 million.
Zhao detailed that Binance investigated the on-chain activities of the crypto transactions and reached out to its partners to freeze the wallet with stolen funds. He revealed that all the funds were taken in tether ( USDT) and transferred to a Tron wallet. According to CZ, Binance managed to freeze about $11.8 million, or 94.4%, of the $12.5 million stolen.
When asked on X about whether crypto is better than fiat currencies kept in banks if your crypto wallet can be frozen, CZ replied: “It’s a balance, and there is no perfect balance point. If you use XMR, then there isn’t much anyone can do (or to help you with), as far as I know. Bitcoin can be traced, but not frozen, until you send it to a CEX [ centralized exchange].” CZ emphasized: “The key point is, you have the choice.”
On Saturday, Binance Customer Support also highlighted on X the exchange’s standard procedure for stolen funds sent to Binance. “Depending on the information provided, Binance may grant a temporary courtesy freeze of any allegedly stolen assets … To keep the stolen assets frozen, you must provide a police report within 7 days after contacting Binance Support. Binance may extend the freeze period for you if you need more time to obtain a police report (on a case-by-case basis),” the post details.
Binance launched a Web3 wallet last week aimed at lowering the barrier for self-custody. The cryptocurrency exchange described its new Web3 wallet as “a self-custody crypto wallet built within the Binance app.” Binance additionally detailed: “A user’s private keys are broken into three smaller parts known as key-shares … Two out of the three key-shares are controlled by users, which is intentional as Web3 Wallet is self-custodial.”
What do you think about the story shared by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao? Let us know in the comments section below.
