FBI blames North Korea for Binance crypto theft
The FBI blamed North Korea for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or about October 29, 2026. The agency linked the theft to cyber…
The FBI blamed North Korea for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or about October 29, 2026, in a theft the agency linked to a group known as TraderTraitor.
The cryptocurrency exchange said it was using company funds worth over $6.34 billion to buy tokens and replenish about 90% of the assets taken. The remaining 10% consists of less-liquid tokens that may take longer to replace, Binance said.
The FBI said the theft happened within minutes. It asked cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and others to block transactions linked to specified addresses, aiming to prevent the funds from being laundered and their origins obscured.
What did the FBI say about the Binance theft?
The FBI attributed the theft to North Korea and connected it to what it described as “malicious cyber activity” by TraderTraitor. The agency said the same actors were behind a $1.5 billion Bybit hack last year.
“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,” the FBI said in a statement.
The stolen assets included bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin. Stablecoins are designed to track the value of traditional currencies.
The agency said it had observed TraderTraitor actors converting the stolen assets primarily into ethereum. It expects the funds to be moved through decentralized finance and instant swap services as the actors prepare them for further laundering, the FBI said.
How is Binance responding?
Binance said it would cover the financial impact of the theft. The company’s plan to use funds worth over $6.34 billion to buy tokens is intended to replenish about 90% of the assets taken, while the less-liquid remainder may take longer to purchase.
“Our commitment remains the same: Binance will fully cover the financial impact of the funds stolen in this incident,” the company said on X.
The scale of the proposed replacement matters to customers because it sets out how Binance intends to address the missing assets. The FBI’s request also puts exchanges and blockchain analytics firms in the position of identifying and blocking transactions tied to the addresses, while the stolen tokens move through conversion and swapping services.
The theft also rattled cryptocurrency markets. News of the cyberattack caused prices of most major cryptocurrencies to slump on Friday, according to the account of the incident.
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. The theft is believed to be the biggest cryptocurrency heist in history, and the FBI’s appeal focuses on stopping the funds before further laundering.
