FBI confirms North Korea stole $6.3 billion from Binance

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 02:08 · Archive

The FBI says North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance in October 2026.

The FBI confirmed on Saturday that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or about 29 October 2026. The theft occurred within minutes and is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. The stolen assets included bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin.

The FBI attributed the theft to malicious cyber activity by an entity known as TraderTraitor, the same actors behind a $1.5 billion hack on Bybit cryptocurrency exchange last year. News of the cyberattack caused prices of major cryptocurrencies to slump on Friday.

The FBI said it had observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets primarily into ethereum, with expectations that these assets would be further laundered through decentralized finance and instant swap services. The agency asked crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and others to block transactions linked to various addresses to prevent the money from being laundered.

How it is being reported

• FBI says North Korea behind $6 billion Binance crypto theftThe FBI said the theft was tied to "malicious cyber activity" by an entity known as TraderTraitor, the same actors behind a $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year.DW News · 1 Nov, 01:53
• FBI confirms North Korea was responsible for 'biggest hack in history' after $6.3billion was stolen from crypto giant BinanceA multi-agency federal investigation uncovered malicious North Korean cyber activity called 'TraderTraitor.'Daily Mail · 31 Oct, 23:32

In this story: FBI · North Korea · Binance · TraderTraitor · Bybit

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log