PiCK
FBI Says North Korea Was Behind Binance’s $6.3 Billion Hack, Sees Signs of Laundering of Stolen Funds
Summary
- The FBI said North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor stole more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance, in what it described as the largest hack in cryptocurrency history.
- U.S. authorities including the FBI said they are tracking signs that the stolen assets are being converted into Ether (ETH) and could be used for further money laundering through decentralized finance (DeFi) and instant swap services.
- Binance said it has covered 90% of the roughly $6.3 billion in losses, plans to restore withdrawal services, and reaffirmed that it will absorb all customer losses.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said North Korea was behind a massive hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Bloomberg reported on October 31 that the FBI had determined the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor stole more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance. The incident is considered the largest hack in cryptocurrency history.
The FBI is tracking the movement of the stolen funds with the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit. It said TraderTraitor has been moving to convert the stolen assets mainly into Ether. The agency added that the group is expected to carry out further laundering through decentralized finance protocols and instant swap services.
TraderTraitor is one of North Korea’s main hacking groups. The FBI previously blamed the group for the roughly $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year. North Korean hackers have also been linked to a separate digital-asset theft worth about $620 million in 2022.
Binance said it had covered about 90% of the roughly $6.3 billion in losses caused by the hack and planned to restore withdrawal services by November 1. The exchange also reaffirmed that it would absorb the full amount of customer losses so users do not suffer financial damage.
President Donald Trump had earlier said U.S. authorities were investigating possible North Korean involvement in the hack. Speaking to reporters at the White House on October 30, Trump referred to the incident and raised concerns about security risks in cryptocurrency trading.
The hack is regarded as one of the biggest cybercrime cases not only in the crypto industry but across cybercrime more broadly. As digital assets move further into mainstream finance, the breach has renewed focus on exchange security and efforts to trace stolen funds.
