FBI links North Korea to $6.3B Binance hack
What's the story
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed North Korea for the $6.3 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The attack was carried out by a state-sponsored unit called TraderTraitor, the FBI said in a statement on Saturday. The bureau also noted that members of this North Korean unit were converting stolen assets into Ethereum.
Recovery efforts
Binance assures users their funds are safe
In light of the hack, Binance has assured its users their funds are safe.
The exchange revealed it has replenished 90% of the stolen assets using company money to buy new tokens.
The remaining 10% consists of less liquid tokens which may take longer to buy.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on X, "We've now replenished 90% of the stolen assets, and we're committed to covering the remaining 10%. Our users will not bear the financial impact of this incident."
Asset laundering
Stolen assets laundered using DeFi and instant swap services: FBI
The FBI has also warned that the stolen assets are likely to be further laundered using decentralized finance (DeFi) and instant swap services.
This is part of their preparation for more advanced stages of laundering.
The bureau said, "It is expected these assets will then be further laundered by converting them using DeFi and instant swap services as they prepare them for further laundering stages."
Presidential reaction
Trump downplays FBI's North Korea revelation
US President Donald Trump downplayed the FBI's revelation about North Korea's involvement in the Binance hack.
He said, "We don't know; we're looking at that. The hack with Binance, we're looking at that."
When asked if authorities would be able to recover stolen assets, Trump expressed skepticism about modern digital currency compared to traditional checks while noting that authorities claim to have the situation under control.
Cyber operations
TraderTraitor is a specific North Korean operation, says FBI
The FBI detailed the malicious cyber activity of TraderTraitor, saying it refers to this specific North Korean operation as "TraderTraitor."
The bureau said, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026."