FBI says North Korea behind $6 billion Binance crypto theft

The FBI said Saturday that North Korea was behind the theft of more than $6 billion (€5.36 billion) in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.  

"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 US law enforcement agency said in a statement.

The theft, which happened within a matter of minutes, is believed to be the biggest cryptocurrency heist in history.

The stolen assets included bitcoin, ethereum and stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin, whose values are pegged to traditional currencies.

News of the cyberattack caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to slump on Friday.

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What did the FBI say?

The 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.

The agency said it had "observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets" primarily into a cryptocurrency called ethereum. 

"It is expected these assets will then be further laundered by converting them using DeFi [decentralized finance] and instant swap services as they prepare them for further laundering stages," it added.

The FBI asked crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and others to block transactions linked to various addresses to ensure the money is not laundered to cover up its origins.

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What did Binance say about the heist?

Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes.

The exchange said on Saturday it was using company funds worth over $6.34 billion to buy tokens to replenish about 90% of the assets stolen in the attack.

The remaining 10% consisted of tokens that were less liquid, meaning they may take longer to buy back, the company said.

"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 heist came amid growing worries that the ever-expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols.