Binance ordered by London High Court to track the hackers behind the $2.6 million crypto heist

• Binance was ordered by London High Court to track the hackers behind the $2.6 million crypto heist, Reuters reported.
• The case puts the spotlight on the British court system’s capability to track cybercriminals.
• It is also one of the first public ones involving Binance, the largest global crypto exchange.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

Binance was ordered by the London High Court to track the hackers behind the $2.6 million cryptocurrency heist and freeze their accounts, Reuters first reported.

The judgment was made public recently after the Royal Courts of Justice in London granted the request of a victim to trace the hackers of his Binance account.

The victim, whose account is linked with artificial intelligence firm Fetch.ai, said the sum was stolen from his Binance account on June 6 and sold for a significantly lower price to a third party in under an hour. He added that he was not able to move his assets due to account restrictions.

The case, while not massive in contrast to other heists – with some amounting to $600 million – puts the spotlight on the British court system’s capability to track cybercriminals. It is also one of the first public ones involving Binance, the largest global cryptocurrency exchange.

“We can confirm that we are helping Fetch.ai in the recovery of assets,” a Binance spokesperson told Reuters.

“Binance routinely freezes accounts that are identified as having suspicious activity occurring in line with our security policies and commitment to ensuring that users are protected while using our platform.”

Syedur Rahman, a partner from Fetch.ai’s legal team at Rahman Ravelli confirmed that Binance had already frozen a sum and vowed to comply with orders.

“We need to dispel the myth that crypto assets are anonymous,” Rahman told Reuters. “The reality is that with the right rules and applications, they can be tracked, traced, and recovered.”

Binance, in the past months, has been under heightened scrutiny from regulators and multiple clampdowns around the world with some banning it entirely due to its decentralized nature.

The cryptocurrency exchange has been blamed for allowing crimes, such as money laundering, to perpetrate.

While Binance was founded in China and officially domiciled in the Cayman Islands, the firm’s scattered physical presence has irked regulators. Currently, it has no physical headquarters.

But on July 27, its CEO Zhao Changpeng expressed his intention of cooperating with global regulators.