FBI Links North Korea to $6.3bn Theft from Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange

FBI Links North Korea to $6.3bn Theft from Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange
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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has linked North Korea to the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, describing it as a major cyber theft.

In a statement on Saturday, the FBI said North Korean-linked actors, identified as the group TraderTraitor, had been laundering the stolen assets, primarily by converting them into Ethereum. The same group was previously blamed for a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February 2025. The agency warned that the funds were likely to be laundered further in stages and urged virtual asset service providers to block transactions involving suspected digital addresses.

Binance said it had replaced around 90 percent of the stolen amount by using company funds to purchase new tokens. The remaining 10 percent consists of less liquid assets that may take longer to acquire. The exchange said it would cover the financial losses rather than pass them on to customers.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng described the breach as a complex attack involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to erase evidence. Following the incident, the exchange temporarily suspended customer withdrawals but later said it expected to resume them on Sunday. It also announced a new proof-of-reserves snapshot to allow users to verify that customer assets were backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio.