The United States federal government has confirmed that North Korea was responsible for what it described as the largest theft in history: roughly $6.3 billion in virtual assets stolen from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume.

The FBI attribution

On Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation publicly advised that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was behind the theft. As The Guardian quoted, the FBI statement read: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is releasing information advising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6bn in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29." The FBI named the group as TraderTraitor, a North Korea-affiliated crew, and said it had observed the actors converting the stolen assets into Ethereum, with further laundering expected through decentralized-finance (DeFi) services and instant-swap platforms. The bureau, together with the US Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, urged the private sector to block transactions linked to the addresses the actors used. This marked the first public confirmation by US federal investigators of North Korea's role; before it, only private cybersecurity researchers had attributed the hack.

Binance's response

Binance first disclosed the breach on Thursday, saying hackers stole roughly $6.3 billion. After initially freezing withdrawals, the exchange began a phased restart on Sunday, resuming some withdrawals after 2 p.m. Singapore time. The first phase re-enabled Ether, USDT, and USDC on Ethereum and on parts of BNB Smart Chain, with other assets such as Dogecoin and Avalanche to follow. Binance said it had replenished about 90% of the stolen amount — roughly $6 billion of the $6.3 billion — with the remaining 10% tied to lower-liquidity tokens. Co-CEO Richard Teng said the exchange would cover the shortfall, stating, "Binance will absorb the financial impact of these stolen funds, not our users."

Context

The heist lands as state-sponsored crypto theft has become a major revenue source for North Korea, and as the US government has increasingly named and sanctioned the groups behind it. It is also a direct test of whether the world's largest exchange can absorb a loss of this size without forcing the cost onto its users. Fox Business reported on the FBI's statement and Binance's disclosures, characterizing the sum as the record-setting theft.

Sources